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982-2 PUSSY WILLOW AND STRAWFLOW£RS 









FLORAE FRED 

IN FLOWER LAND 

Laura Rountree Smith/ 


THE TRADE MARK 



for the 

HAPPY CHILD 






r 

% 


Copyright 1923 
Stanton & Van Vliet Co. 
Chicago, III. 

Printed in United States of America 


OCT 26 '23 


©C1A7C0549 



/ 


* 


CHAPTER I 


PUSSYWILLOWS AND 
STRAWFLOWERS 

THE ENCHANTED GARDEN 

Come, let us travel hand in hand, 

With Flora and Fred in Flowerland. 

One merry March day Flora woke up 
early and called, 

“Oh Freddy, Freddy, wake up, dear, 

I know that merry spring is here.” 

Freddy turned over for another nap 
but Flora slipped out of bed and went and 
dressed, and then started down to the 
woods at the edge of the pasture. 

She clapped her hands with joy, crying, 

“Pussy-Willow, Pussy-Willow, 

Soft and downy fairy pillow.” 


3 


4 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


At the word “Fairy” a tiny, tinkling 
voice cried, 

“All the Fairies now have heard; 

You spoke, dear Child, the magic word; 
If you are surprised, I beg your pardon, 
You have entered the Enchanted Gar¬ 
den.” 

Flora could not see the Fairy but she 
stamped her foot and cried, “Enchanted 
Garden, indeed! you can’t fool me. This 
is only the woodland at the edge of our 
own pasture.” 

At this very minute Fred, who had 
dressed hastily, came running and shout¬ 
ing, 

“Pussy-Willow is in the woods, 

Fairy Pussy, in gray hood.” 

As he said the word “Fairy” a tiny, 
tinkling bell rang and a voice said, 

“Ha, ha, ha, I know you well: 

I’ll cast on you a fairy spell.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 5 


The children closed their eyes a minute 
while the Fairy Spell was working and 
when they opened them they were, in¬ 
deed, in the Enchanted Garden. 

Everything had a voice. 

There were happiness and spring sun¬ 
shine everywhere. 

Fairies were weeding in the Garden 
while Pussy-Willows, and Strawflowers, 
and Catkins looked at them and called 
out various directions. 

Then and there, the First Surprising 
Thing Happened! 

A Scythe came up and bowed low to the 
children, saying, 

“I am Sammy Scythe, and now, my dears, 
I have cut down grass for a hundred 
years.” 


> 


6 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


“Don’t you dare to cut me down,” cried 
Pussy-Willow, trembling. 

“Look out for our toes,” shouted the 
Strawflowers. 

“Have you a real name?” asked Flora 
in surprise. 

Sammy Scythe answered, 

I have a real name, of course, like you, 
And a very sharp edge, too; 

When it grows dull I’m unhappy, very, 
Then I call for the Whet-Stone Fairy.” 

Then The Next Surprising Thing Hap¬ 
pened! 

Susan Sickle came up to the children 
and sang, 

“I am Susan Sickle, a garden keeper, 
And I am a very busy reaper.” 

By this time the children thought that 
nothing could surprise them, but Tommy 
Trowel began to dig and say, 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 7 


“We all will be busy very soon; 

See, I am shaped something like a spoon. 
Some Trowels are large and some are 
small, 

There are different uses for us all; 

The Mason will use my cousin soon, 
While I have been used to plaster a 
room.” 

More Surprising Things Came Thick 
And Fast. 

Horace Hoe came dancing along, 
whistling and calling, 

“I am Horace Hoe, important, indeed, 
For I remove each naughty weed; 
‘Horace Hoe is a good friend of ours’, 
Say all the plants and roots and flowers.” 

The children held their breath when 
Sarah Spade came to work in the En¬ 
chanted Garden. She cried, 


8 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


“I am made of iron, with edges thin, 

I am ready real work to begin; 

I am a very merry rover, 

Known in gardens the world over. 
After using, I hope you mean 
To brush off the earth and keep me 
clean.” 


Then, as though by magic, Horace 
Hoe slipped into Fred’s hand, and Sarah 
Spade slipped into Flora’s hand, and the 
children began to dig in the Enchanted 
Garden. 

They dug up a Cheerful Cricket and a 
Careless Caterpillar, and a Bonnie But¬ 
terfly sailed by while a tiny, tinkling 
voice sang, 


“We must prepare in this garden of ours 
For the busy bees as well as flowers; 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 9 


We will raise flowers to attract bees, 
For we are anxious, quite, to please.” 

“Oh, oh, oh!” cried Flora. “What a 
beautiful Spider-Web!” 

She saw a Spider-Web hanging be¬ 
tween the Pussy-Willows and Straw- 
flowers. 

The children drew near a Spinning 
Spider busy at work. 

He was making a web and he looked 
curiously at the children and said, 

“I am unlike Grasshopper Green who 
sings, 

And you see I wear no wings; 

My body is in two parts you see, 

And my legs work continuously; 

To see in all directions is wise, 

And so I have for use eight eyes.” 

“Eight Eyes!” echoed the children in 
astonishment. 


10 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


The Spinning Spider continued, 

“I have a nest of eggs, if you look in, 
Here’s a tiny spider who sheds his skin; 
The little spiders are so bright, 

They shed their skins when they grow 
tight; 

Now your attention I am winning, 

I’ll say I use two threads in spinning. 
When my web is destroyed by men, 

I will patiently spin again; 

For flies and insects I set a trap,' 

Then settle down to take a nap.” 

The children were wonderfully inter¬ 
ested in all the Spinning Spider said. 

They said, “What a wonderful garden 
this is where everything talks to us!” 

“We can tell stories, too,” whispered 
the Strawflowers. 

Flora and Fred cried, “Tell us a story, 
please.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 11 


They crept down close to the earth 
where the Strawflowers or Everlastings 
grew. 

The Flowers began, “Once, long ago, 
it was always summer time, but a wicked 
fairy invented frost and put the flowers 
to sleep in autumn. 

“The wicked fairy wanted to drink but 
all the brooks were frozen over. She had 
forgotten to put the Strawflowers to 
sleep, so some of our family pointed out 
the way where a spring could be found. 

“The fairy said, ‘You shall bloom for¬ 
ever for the reward and shall be called 
the Everlasting Flowers, or Strawflow¬ 
ers or None-So-Pretty or Immortelle’.” 

Flora picked up one of the Everlasting 
Flowers and said, “I will put you in a 
vase and see if you will keep fresh all 
winter.” 


12 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


The Strawflowers said, “We did not 
finish our story. The Hunter’s Butter¬ 
fly is often one of our guests and many 
insects surround us.” 

The Pussy-Willows cried, 

“We’ve something to say, something to 
say, 

We want to be put in a big bouquet.” 

Flora and Fred gathered their arms 
full of Pussy-Willows and Strawflowers 
and were just starting home when a tiny, 
tinkling voice cried, 

“If you leave out Sammy Scythe and 
Susan Sickle, 

You will put me in an awful pickle.” 

The children laughed and said, “The 
fairy means we must put all the garden 
tools away.” 

Horace Hoe and Sarah Spade said, 
“You’re getting grown up, we’re afraid.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 13 


Just then a Hunter’s Butterfly came 
sailing down, down, and said, “How many 
gardens I have visited this bright, spring 
day, how many secrets I could tell you of 
the coming of spring and I even met the 
Mad March Hare!” 

At this very minute up sprang a pair 
of long ears by the fence and up bounded 
the Mad March Hare. 

He said, “I am mad at everything. 

I am mad at winter, fall and spring; 

Some girls are bad, some boys are bad, 

It is my nature to be MAD.” 

He dashed about the Enchanted Gar¬ 
den and began to dig up newly planted 
seeds. 

“Stop him, stop him,” cried the children 
in one breath. 

A tiny, tinkling voice sang, 

“There is magic in the air, 

Listen to me, Mad March Hare: 


14 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


If you’ll be good for hours and hours, 
I’ll give you some Everlasting Flowers.” 

To this the Mad March Hare replied, 

“They are so pretty, white and pink, 

I’ll just stand still a while and think.” 
He was trying to make up his mind 
whether he wanted to be good or not. 

Sammy Scythe stood on tip-toe to see 
if the Mad March Hare intended to be 
good and Susan Sickle actually smiled, 
while Horace Hoe and Sarah Spade dug 
firmly into the ground. 

Tommy Trowel held his breath and 
the Spinning Spider spun a web all 
around him. 

The Mad March Hare shouted, 

“I am caught in a trap, caught in a trap, 
I am sure I never thought of that.” 

He really thought the Spider Web had 
bound him. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 15 


Flora and Fred broke through the web 
and said, “Perhaps you need some one to 
love you and teach you how to behave in 
a garden.” 

The Mad March Hare leaped out of the 
children’s arms and ran off, shouting, 

“I am happy, I do declare; 

I am the Mad March Hare!” 

Flora and Fred heard the tiny, tinkling 
voice again as the Fairy sang, 

“Home again when the day is done, 
Home again travel at set of sun.” 

The children rubbed their eyes and 
Flora said, “Why, it is sunset sure 
enough, see the rosy clouds! We have 
been out all day.” 

Fred said, “I thought we were in an 
Enchanted Garden instead of the wood¬ 
land, and I thought all the garden tools 


16 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


talked to us. I thought the tools had 
funny names, too.” 

A tiny, tinkling voice sang, 

“So you were on Enchanted Ground, 
Look and see what can be found.” 

Flora looked down and saw a tiny 
spade. On the handle was written 
“Sarah Spade.” 

Fred looked down and saw a tiny hoe. 
On it was written “Horace Hoe.” 

The children took the new garden tools 
and started homeward. They said, “We 
will use the new tools in our own garden 
to-morrow.” They added, “It was too bad 
we left our flowers behind.” 

When they got home, Fred called, “Oh 
my!” and Flora said, “Look and see!” 

There, on the round table, was a big 
blue vase full of flowers. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 17 


The big, blue vase held Pussy-Willows 
and Catkins and Strawflowers. It must 
have felt a touch of enchantment, for it 
sang, 

“In far-off lands, in far-off lands, 

I was fashioned for you by beauti¬ 
ful hands.” 

The children soon fell asleep and a 
tiny, tinkling voice sang, 

“Pussy-Willow, Pussy-Willow, 

In your cap of fur, 

Pussy-Willow, Pussy-Willow, 

Do you ever purr? 

Pussy-Willow, Pussy-Willow, 
Welcome every year; 
Pussy-Willow, Pussy-Willow, 
Merry spring is here.” 































Chapter Two 
IN THE WILDWOODS 

VIOLETS AND DOGWOOD 



CHAPTER 2 


IN THE WILDWOODS 

VIOLETS AND DOGWOOD 

Flora said, “Listen to me an hour, 

I'll tell you something about a flower.” 

She went on to say, “My name, Flora, 
means the wild flowers in any part of the 
country, or it means an account of such 
plants. I am very proud of my name.” 

Fred said, “My real name, Frederick, 
means a Perfect Ruler.” 

The children both laughed, for up to 
this time Flora had not taken much in¬ 
terest in flowers, and Fred was not much 
of a ruler with his playmates. 


21 


22 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


They said, “Where shall we go to-day?” 

Fred said, “Let us take our lunch and 
Tommy Trowel and go to the woods.” 

The children started off and Mother 
Flower called, “Be sure to come back by 
supper-time.” 

Flora replied, 

“We will both be back on time, 
Mother, sure as I can rhyrfie.” 

Fred said, 

“We will be back, at any rate, 

Before the day grows very late.” 

“Don’t be too sure of that,” called a 
tiny, tinkling voice, and the children 
skipped merrily off to the wildwoods. 

There they met Fleet-Foot, the deer, 
and Shy Boy, the Squirrel, and the Mad 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 23 


March Hare appeared and disappeared 
among the bushes. 

All the animals said that spring was 
coming. 

All the trees were putting out new 
leaves. 

The warm sunshine called, 

“Merry spring is here, you know, 
Spring again, it’s time to grow.” 

Suddenly the children stopped. 

“Oh, oh, oh!” cried Flora. 

“Oh, oh, see the violets!” shouted 
Freddy. 

There was a perfect carper of purple 
violets right before them. They began 
to pick violets and kept on until they had 
a whole basket full. Then they sat down 
to rest. 


24 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Fred said, “I will use Tommy Trowel to 
dig up one little violet plant and we can 
use that to start our wild flower garden.” 
He knew we should be careful not to dig 
up too many wild flowers for we want 
them to keep on growing year after year. 

Just then a tiny, tinkling voice said, 

“Stay here a little longer yet, 

Hark to the song of the violet! 

And if you listen very well, 

A story also it will tell.” 

The Whistling Wind swayed the violets 
to and fro, and they sang little fairy 
songs and said, “We will tell you an In¬ 
dian story: ‘Once a great hero Hercules 
saw, in a faraway camp, a beautiful girl. 
Every day after that he said, 

“Travel swiftly light canoe, 

We have plenty of room for two.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 25 


‘He wished the beautiful girl might sit 
in the canoe beside him. 

‘Night after night he stood under the 
stars and recited poetry about the beauti¬ 
ful girl. 

‘One night he met the Indian girl and 
they ran away together. The girl wound 
the long braids of her hair round Her¬ 
cules’ neck to show they were engaged. 

‘The tribe of Indians to which the girl 
belonged followed and killed the unlucky 
pair. 

‘In the morning up sprang violets 
where they fell and the Indians said, 
“The new flower, the violet, means love 
and courage and devotion, and on the 
petals of the violet are the strands of the 
Indian girl’s hair. We will name this 
flower “violet,” or “entangled heads.” So 
the Indians know this flower to-day.’ ” 


26 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Flora said, “It was too bad about the 
Indian maid, but I do not see the strands 
of her hair on the petals of the violet.” 

Another violet spoke up and said, 

“We violets always love to bloom, 

We are often used for sweet perfume, 
We can tell other uses, if you wish, 

We are used to garnish many a dish; 
Also you’ll think it very funny, 

But we are cooked with rice and-honey; 
In the land of England far away, 

We’re sometimes served as food today.” 

“Imagine eating violets!” said Fred. 
“What interesting little flowers they 
are.” 

Another violet piped up in a sweet 
voice and said, 

“Cradles that rock to and fro 
In Greece we decorate , you know; 

In Athens, on us all take pity, 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 27 


We are the symbols of their city: 

In the singing tourney, we are told, 
The prize was a violet of gold.” 

Another violet said, “Once we were 
all white, and I will tell you how we be¬ 
came colored. Venus asked Cupid if she 
or a group of young girls were the most 
beautiful. 

“Cupid said the girls were fairer than 
she. This angered Venus so much she 
beat the girls until they became little 
purple violets. As violets, they bloom 
every year, and more interesting things 
are told about this little flower. 

“Here is something not to forget, 
Napoleon loved the violet; 

On this flower his heart was set, 

And he was called, ‘Corporal Violet’.” 

Fred said, “I do love History. I never 
knew before, though, that Napoleon 
cared so much for the violet.” 


28 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Just then the children heard a sound 
and found a little Reasonable Rabbit 
caught in a trap. 

They opened the trap and found the 
little animal’s leg was hurt. 

Fred petted him, and Flora fed him, 
and because he was a Reasonable Rabbit, 
he let the children carry him to the brook 
and wash and bind up his lame paw. 

It was then they cried suddenly, “The 
Dogwood is in bloom! The Dogwood is in 
bloom!” 

Frances Frog croaked: 

“I knew that half an hour ago, 

I could have told you it is so.” 

Sure enough, the Dogwood tree was 
in blossom, and the Dogwood shrubs 
were in blossom, with their pretty green¬ 
ish, pinkish white flowers. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 29 


A tiny, tinkling voice said, “There is 
Dwarf Dogwood, and Flowering Dog¬ 
wood, and Silky Dogwood, and many 
other varieties.” 

“If you study, you’ll very soon see 
They belong to the same family; 

This one thing more I’m going to tell, 
Their family name is just ‘Cornel’.” 

Fred said, “I never dreamed there was 
so much to learn about wild flowers.” 

The Reasonable Rabbit cocked his ears 
and waved them to and fro and said, 

“I learned some things too, if you please, 
When I visited the Japanese.” 

The Reasonable Rabbit sat down to 
rest his lame paw and remarked, “The 
Japanese are wonderful in the way they 
arrange their flowers when they bring 


30 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 

them in-doors. It is a real study with 
them. 

“One day a Japanese called So Ho saw 
a plum tree near a river hanging with 
the branches partly in the water. He 
gathered a plum branch and took it home 
and placed it partly in a bowl of water. 
He named it The Water-Diving Plum, 
and Japanese people have arranged 
some of their flowers in this manner ever 
since. 

“A Dwarf Tree is placed in a bowl, dec¬ 
orated like a village, so the Japanese say 
they will bring nature in-doors. 

“They also try to arrange flowers in a 
vase or bowl to look as though they are 
growing. 

“They put a dwarf tree in a bowl, and 
cut its branches so they will be uneven 
and pretty to look at. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 3! 


“The Japanese also believe all flowers 
have souls. 

“They say, 

The soul is in the blossom in the spring; 
Then again we hear them sing 
That every Japanese believes, 

Later, the soul is in the leaves/ 

“The Japanese tell us hanging baskets 
must be hung up with care when they 
are received as a gift, for it would not be 
polite to look down upon a gift of a 
friend. 

They all like to please in things like 
these, 

The dear little, queer little, Japanese. 

“The Japanese do not have bouquets 
as we do in-doors, but always try to ar¬ 
range flowers as though they were grow¬ 
ing.” 


32 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Flora and Fred wanted to take the 
Reasonable Rabbit home with them but 
he said he would rather meet them in the 
woods again another day. So, taking 
their basket full of Dogwood and Violets, 
they started home. 

“Look!” cried Fred, “There is the 
Potter-Wasp. See what a tiny waist 
he has! See what he is doing! He is 
building a house of earth on a small 
stem. That is the reason he is called the 
Potter-Wasp. He builds an earthen ves¬ 
sel of soil and his own saliva. He brings 
a few caterpillars to the house, lays an 
egg and seals up the house. The little 
larva wakes by and by, feeds on the cat¬ 
erpillars, and becomes a wasp who gnaws 
a hole in the house and comes out.” 

Flora said, “That sounds to me like a 
Fairy Tale. Now we have heard of a 
Potter-Wasp, I wish we could visit a real 






















































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Flora And Fred in Flowerland 33 


Potter and find out how jugs and vases 
are made.” 

The children had been in the woods so 
long it was seven o’clock before they got 
home but Mother Flower said, instead of 
scolding them for being late to sup¬ 
per, “What a wonderful basket of flow¬ 
ers you have! You may put them in the 
big, brass vase on the table.” 

The flowers looked pretty in the brass 
vase on the red table cloth, and the chil¬ 
dren tried to arrange them in Japanese 
fashion. They said, 

“We will put fresh water in this vase of 
ours, 

For we like to think of a soul in the 
flowers; 

And to flowers that blossom anywhere 

We will always give our loving care.” 

Flora took almost as much interest in 
the vase as Fred did in the flowers and 


34 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


she said, “I do hope we may go to visit 
a pottery some day and find out how 
vases are made.” 


Chapter Three 

THE WILD-FLOWER 
GARDEN. 


POPPIES AND RAGGED SAILORS 



CHAPTER 3 


THE WILD-FLOWER GARDEN. 

POPPIES AND RAGGED SAILORS. 

“Hurry, hurry,” cried Flora, “It is 
time to get up and plant our Wild-Flower 
Garden.” 

Fred said, “I will take Tommy Trowel 
and the violet plant we got in the woods 
yesterday and begin our Wild-Flower 
Garden.” 

No sooner had he gotten the violet 
planted than it said, “Herbs in the violet 
family have-five sepals, five petals, a one- 
celled pod with three rows of seeds. They 
are club-shaped and some of our family 
bloom all summer.” 

The Common Blue Violet that was 
talking continued, “I like to grow on low 


37 



38 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


ground. My cousin, the English Violet 
is sweet scented, The Hairy Violet likes 
to grow in dry soil, and the Arrow- 
Leaved Violet has arrow-shaped leaves, 
and the Bird’s Foot Violet grows in sandy 
soil, and the Round-Leaved Violet grows 
in cold woods of the north. The Pansy- 
Violet is cultivated or wild.” 

“My! how many kinds of violets are 
there?” asked Flora in surprise. 

Fred, who had read a great deal, an¬ 
swered, “I know at least fifteen kinds or 
varieties of violets, myself.” 

It was fun planning a Wild-Flower 
Garden. 

The children decided to have in it, Wild 
Poppies, Daisies and Ragged Sailors, and 
many other flowers. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 39 


A tiny, tinkling voice said, 

“When to the woods for wild flowers you 
go, 

Take up only one plant, you know; 
Leave the others alone to grow.” 

Flora started off with a market basket 
and Fred took Tommy Trowel and off 
they went in search of wild-flowers. 

When the children got back from the 
woods that day they heard a Timid Tree 
Toad croak, 

“This garden is mine, 

Mine, in rain or shine.” 

To their surprise a Bonnie Butterfly 
sailing overhead said, 

“This is my garden, I flutter by, 

A Bonnie little Butterfly.” 


40 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


At this very minute the Busy Bee came 
buzzing along and said, 

“This garden belongs to me, 

I am a very Busy Bee.” 

Just then a Humming Bird said, 

“This is my garden, in a minute, 

I’ll fly o’er every flower in it.” 

Flora and Fred laughed and said, 

“This garden seems to belong to every 
one, but we are delighted with our visit¬ 
ors.” 

They used Horace Hoe and Sarah 
Spade and planted Wild-Flowers. 

Old Grandma Gray came over with her 
knitting and said, 

“To intrude I beg your pardon, 

But I love a Wild-Flower Garden.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 41 


Old Grandma Gray lost her spectacles 
and Fred and Flora began a hunt for 
them. Up and down the garden walks, 
under the shade trees they looked, in 
flower-pots and the wheel-barrows and 
still they could not find the missing spec¬ 
tacles. 

Suddenly a tiny, tinkling voice said, 

“Grandmother Gray, I’ve heard it said 
You sometimes wear them on your 
head.” 

The children laughed loud and long, 
for sure enough, Grandmother Gray had 
pushed her spectacles upon her head. 

She said now, quite as though nothing 
had happened, “Be sure to plant some 
poppies in your garden so Ceres can 
sleep.” 




42 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Fred said, “Please tell us about Ceres.” 

Grandmother Gray settled her specta¬ 
cles on her nose and said, “You know how 
Persephone was stolen by Pluto long 
ago, and kept half the time of the year 
in the underworld. Her mother, Ceres, 
searched for her night and day and grew 
very tired. 

The Gods would gladly have restored 
Persephone if they could, but as they 
could not, they said, 

‘Poppies red ’mid grasses peep, 
Poppies grow at Ceres’ feet.’ 

“Soon Poppies sprang up everywhere, 
and Ceres breathed of them and fell 
asleep.” 

The children said, “We will plant Pop¬ 
pies for Ceres and we hope they will also 
make us sleepy when night comes.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 43 


Fred said, “I have seen pictures of 
Ceres, painted with poppies about her 
face.” 

Just then Grasshopper Green hopped 
in sight and said, 

“I am Grasshopper Green, very bold, 

I have no wings, and my face is old.” 

Fred looked at him closely and said, 
“Sure enough, he has a very old face.” 

Grasshopper Green said he was young 
but by and by his wings would grow, and 
he could not help having an old looking 
face. 

“Some secrets,” he said, “I’m never keep¬ 
ing, 

My two hind legs are used for leaping; 
For your attention the Grasshopper 
begs, 

Please, see, I have three pairs of legs.” 



44 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


“Three pairs of legs!” echoed Flora, 
“how very funny that sounds.” 

Grasshopper Green said, 

“I will be happy while I can, 

And fold my legs up like a fan; 

My cousin, the Cricket, sings and 
sings, 

‘My abdomen is made of rings’.” 

“What are you planning to do in our 
garden?” asked Fred. 

Grasshopper Green looked very wise 
and said, 

“I am green as can be all over; 

My use, I’ll leave you to discover.” 

He hopped merrily away. 

Grandmother Gray said, 

“Ragged Sailors have a pretty motion, 
They make me think about the ocean.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerlanxl 45 


Flora said, “Do tell us a story about 
these flowers.” 

Grandmother Gray said, “Once upon 
a time a little white flower said, 

‘All day long, I sigh, and I try 
To reach up, up, to the blue sky.’ 

“The Queen of Fairyland said, ‘I will 
reward you and change your color to 
blue, so the Fairies, seeing you, will say, 
“How blue the sky is today”.’ 

“The Ragged Sailors said, ‘We tried 
to reach the sky and see! we have become 
blue.’ 

“They longed to reach the rainbow 
also, and they became blue and pink and 
reflected some of the rainbow colors.” 

A Humming Bird, sailing by, said, “Do 
you know, I am so happy to think the 
Wild-Flowers in your garden will come 






46 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 

up of themselves every spring? When 
you plant a flower, you make the birds, 
and bees and butterflies very happy. 
Did you ever think of that? 

How many flowers can you name? 

Have you learned any since I came?” 

The children were surprised to hear 
how many flowers the Humming Bird 
could name and how he liked their bright 
colors. 

The Humming Bird said, “I know 
many secrets. I know why some flowers 
have a disagreeable smell. I know why 
the Daisy immigrant grows all over fields 
and meadows, and I know why some flow¬ 
ers, such as the Gentian, are hard to find. 
I could tell you, also, why birds like some 
flowers and insects others, but, 

I am such a restless Hummer 

I will away and return next sum¬ 
mer.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 47 

With a flash of brilliant wing's the 
Humming Bird was off and away. 

Grandmother Gray said, 

“Bees depend on flowers for food; 

To plant flowers we all should: 

For pollen and nectar in the flowers 
They search in this garden of ours.” 

A tiny, tinkling voice said, 

“Look at the tree, look at the tree, 

A Dryad will come out, just see!” 

The children looked at the old apple 
tree and heard a voice in the tree-trunk, 
and a door opened in the tree and a Dry¬ 
ad appeared with a chain of daisies as a 
crown saying, 


“Every year I sing and sing 
To greet the merry God of Spring, 
When he searched for me he found 




48 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


I had sunk upon the ground; 

And a Daisy I became, 

In my costume and my name.” 

“Did you really turn into a Daisy?” 
asked the children eagerly. “Can you 
change back into a maiden when you 
please?” 

To which the Dryad answered, 

“My secret you may yet discover, 
Daisy chains are made all over; 

In History, too, many a Queen 
With the Daisies white was seen.” 

Suddenly the Dryad disappeared. The 
door in the tree-trunk closed and the 
children said, “How very beautiful the 
Dryad was. Oh, why didn’t we ask to 
go inside the tree?” 

Grandmother Gray went home, calling 
back, 



















































* 
























Flora And Fred in Flowerland 49 

“Water your garden every day, 

For visitors are on the way; 

Your flowers will blossom very fair, 
For they respond to love and care.” 

Late that night Flora and Fred peeped 
out the window and saw their Wild-Flow¬ 
er Garden, and noticed the flowers nod¬ 
ding in the moonlight. 

“I am glad I found a Fringed Gentian,” 
said Flora. 

Fred said, “Hush! Listen! I hear a tiny, 
tinkling voice and think the Fairy wants 
to talk to us. I wish she would tell us 
why some Gentians are Fringed and 
some closed.” 

The tiny, tinkling voice said, 

“Once the Queen of Fairyland 
Was out late, you understand. 





50 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


“She went to a Gentian. 

“‘Who knocks at this late hour?’ it 
asked. 

“She replied, 

‘I need shelter, you understand; 

I am the Queen of Fairyland.’ 

“ ‘Oh, ho,’ said the Gentian, ‘Queen or 
no Queen, I cannot give you shelter; be¬ 
sides a Queen would not need to look for 
shelter, I am sure.’ 

“The Queen went to another Gentian 
and said as before, 

‘I need shelter, you understand; 

I am the Queen of Fairyland.’ 

“This Gentian said, 

‘Whoever you are, I’ll shelter you, 

In my garment of pretty blue.’ 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 51 


“The Queen slept safely all night long 
and she cast a spell on the flower, so that 
it was no longer a closed Gentian but it 

opened the next day. 

“She went away singing, 

‘You’ll now be loved by everyone; 
You may open to receive the sun.’ 

“The Gentian also received the gift of 
being the only true blue flower in the 
world.” 

“What a pretty story,” said Flora. 

Fred said, “I wonder if we will dream 
about the Fringed Gentian and the 
Queen of Fairyland.” 




Chapter Four 
POPPY DREAMS 

POPPIES AND SYRINGA 



















CHAPTER 4 


POPPY DREAMS 
POPPIES AND SYRINGA 

Flora and Fred often laughed about 
their last name being “Flower,” and 
said perhaps that was the reason they 
liked flowers so well. 

Mother Flower said one evening, as 
she set a jar of Poppies and Syringa on 
the table, “I hope this bouquet will bring 
you Poppy Dreams.” 

“What are Poppy Dreams?” asked the 
children together in one breath. 

Mother Flower answered, 

“Just breathe of the Poppies and you’ll 
know, 

And away to Dreamland you will go.” 


55 


56 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


“I wonder whom we will meet first in 
Dreamland,” said Fred. 

Flora said, “I will breathe of the Syr- 
inga and make a wish that we may en¬ 
ter Dreamland together.” 

Fred and Flora soon went to Dream¬ 
land and the first creature they met was 
Georgie Gopher. 

He said, without any introduction 
whatever, 

“I am about the size of a small rat; 

Can you guess why my cheeks are 
fat?” 

The children laughed as Georgie Go¬ 
pher continued, 

“My cheeks have pockets, yes, indeed; 

In them I carry stolen seeds.” 

The children began to chase Georgie 
Gopher, and said, “You have no right to 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 57 \ 


steal seeds, but now we know why you 
are often called the Pocket Gopher.” 

Georgie Gopher was rather cross but 
said, 

“Follow me down my hole in the furrow; 

Come on, help me burrow, burrow.” 

The children thought it an interesting 
experience to go down a gopher hole. 

“Ah, ha,” said Fred, “Now I know how 
you spoiled our garden.” 

“Now I know you threw up hillocks of 
earth, you naughty fellow, and now I 
know who was eating the roots of our 
fruit trees.” 

Georgie Gopher said, “As a family we 
are so cross that late in life no one can 
stand our company and we live alone. I 
hope I will not meet my enemy, Sammy 
Snake.” 


58 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


The children could not help laughing 
as they saw the pockets in Georgie Go¬ 
pher’s cheeks. He said next, 

“If you like, you can make a whistle; 

Here is the underground stem of a 
thistle.” 

He went on laughing and talking, and 
saying, “ Ha, ha, ha, funny how thistles 
like to grow by underground stems and 
by winged seeds. Ha, ha, ha, soon we 
will have thistles scattered all over. They 
like to grow fast just as well as I like to 
nibble roots and corn and carry off 
seeds.” 

Georgie Gopher was a comical fellow 
and it was really surprising how much he 
knew. 

He said next, 

“The thistle is not loved in story or song, 

But to that family some flowers belong; 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 59 


The Everlasting and Daisy you see 

Belong to the very same family.” 

Flora and Fred went hand in hand 
through Gopher Land and came to a row 
of Poppy Ladies smiling and nodding to 
them a welcome. Georgie Gopher went 
about his business, saying, 

“As far away the starlight gleams, 
Poppy Ladies bring you dreams.” 

The children looked after him but he 
was gone. 

The Poppy Ladies nodded and held out 
their arms and led the children in a mer¬ 
ry dance. 

They saw California Poppies, the most 
beautiful yellow flowers in the world. 
They saw Bloodroots and Dutchmen’s 
Breeches, Bleeding Heart and many oth¬ 
er relations of the Poppies, all of which 
belonged to the Poppy Family. 


60 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Said the Poppy Ladies, 

“We bloom from June to October, 

We are seen the wide world over; 

In England and Scotland, it is said, 
Wild and bad are the Poppies red. 
We cultivate these flowers at home, 
But they grow wild ’mid the walls of 
Rome.” 

The Poppy Ladies formed a circle and 
the two children sat inside the circle 
while they talked, in a knowing way 
about the Iceland Poppy, and Prickly 
Poppy, and Mikado Poppy, and Rose 
Morn and Fairy Blush. 

The children said, “How delicate and 
beautiful you are. We never dreamed 
there were so many kinds of Poppies in 
the wide world.” 

The Poppy Ladies said, 

“Half of our beauty is never told, 
See our centres of light gold; 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 61 


And tho we cut up many a caper, 
Our petals look like tissue paper; 
Single or double we like to grow, 
Poppy Ladies in a row.” 

“Oh, there is a queer little Poppy,” 
cried Flora. 

The Poppy Ladies replied, “That is the 
Japanese Pompon.” 

“To remember some things is a trouble; 

Some Poppies are single, and some 
double.” 

The Poppy Ladies danced about and 
whirled so fast that some of the dainty 
petals fell from their caps, but others 
soon came to take their places. 

Two lovely girls dressed in pure white 
came into the dance and the Poppy La¬ 
dies said, 


62 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


“Here is lilac, true Syringa 
And Philadelphus or Syringa.” 

They were so small the children called 
them dwarfs and they said, “Some of our 
family are called Dwarf shrubs and some 
of us are tall. We belong to Home Land 
and Dreamland.” 

The Syringas said, “There is a legend 
when flowers fall asleep on earth they 
blossom in heaven. You do often see our 
colors in the rainbow.” 

“What about the pot of gold?” asked 
the children eagerly. 

The Poppy Ladies replied, 

“Dear children, we beg you not to tease; 

We keep some secrets, if you please.” 

Fred said,“ How is it that we find flow¬ 
ers growing all over the world? How do 
seeds travel so far?” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 63 


The Poppy Ladies said, “Animals carry 
them in their fur, or hair or cheeks.” 

At the mention of “cheeks,” Georgie 
Gopher came in sight talking about his 
enemy, Sammy Snake. 

The Poppy Ladies continued, 

“Flora and Fred, you must have heard 

That seeds are scattered by many a 
bird; 

You carry them, too, as I suppose, 

Burrs and seeds stick to your clothes: 

Come on into another room, 

And we will show you a flower balloon.” 

The children followed the Poppy La¬ 
dies and said, “Oh, oh, oh! See the thistle 
seeds, see the milkweed babies, see the 
dandelion seeds, see the Fairy Balloons!” 

The wind played with the Fairy Bal¬ 
loons and sang a little song. 


64 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


“Harken, as the South Wind sings, 

Some seeds roll and some have wings.” 

Then, a most wonderful thing hap¬ 
pened. 

A pair of wing-shaped maple seeds 
floated on Fred’s back, and a pair of 
wing-shaped maple seeds floated on 
Flora’s back, and they began to rise and 
fly up, up, up, out of the Gopher hole and 
up, up, up, into the blue sky. 

The wind called, 

“Sail away, sail away, by night and day, 

Seeds on the wing sail away, sail away.” 

The children said, “It is wonderful to 
sail up to the tree-tops. We may learn 
some secrets of the trees as well as of 
flowers.” 

Down, down, down again they sailed 
into their own little beds at home. 



i 





























. 







• ■ 


• KAJfl 

































Flora And Fred in Flowerland 65 


A tiny, tinkling voice sang, 

“Close your eyes, close your eyes, 

A child grows sleepy if he tries; 
Rest conies to you now, I know, 
Gently, as the Poppies blow, 
Bringing dreams of all things bright; 
Flowers sing, ‘Good night, good 
night.’ 

The Syringa in your fingers 
Brings to you a dream that lingers.” 

Little Tommy Tick-Tock came out of 
the clock on the wall and sang, 

“If I had some leisure hours, 

I would paint this vase of flowers; 
On the pendulum I rock, 

Singing, ‘Tick, tick, tick, tock.’ ” 


If you guessed sixty-six times you nev¬ 
er could guess what Flora and Fred 
thought of doing next day when it rained. 


66 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 

They got out an old paint brush and 
boxes and they found another brush and 
two old easels. 

They began to paint a picture of Pop¬ 
pies and Syringas in a vase. 

Every once in a while Fred would say, 
“Oh, I met Georgie Gopher,” and Flora 
would say, “So did I;” and then Flora 
would say, “I met the Poppy Ladies,” and 
Fred would say, “So did I.” So they talked 
away merrily as they painted the picture 
you see. 

By and by Fred stopped and said, 
“Dear me, we forgot to search for the 
pot of gold at the rainbow’s end.” 

Flora danced a little Flower dance and 
said, “Never mind, we will go to Dream¬ 
land again, maybe.” She added, 

“When we see the shadows fall, 

All the Poppy Ladies call, 

Bright dreams wait for one and all.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 67 


Fred said, 

“Poppy Ladies, it is true, 

We were happy to meet you; 
Will you bring us bright dreams 
too?” 


The red Poppies nodded merrily to the 
children and the Syringas said, 

“This group of flowers is sure to please 
Arranged quite like the Japanese.” 







Chapter Five 

FLOWER LEGENDS. 

DAISIES AND FORGET-ME-NOTS 



CHAPTER 5 


FLOWER LEGENDS. 

DAISIES AND FORGET-ME-NOTS 
One day Flora said to Fred, 

“How I shall get on, I can’t understand, 
Without you a day in fair Flowerland.” 

Mother Flower had to send Fred to the 
city for a while on business. 

He had a trusty, old travelling-bag for 
a companion and called to Flora, 

“I will think about you day and night, 
And don’t forget, my dear, to write.” 

The children had agreed they would 
write part of a letter every day and at the 
end of a week they would send it. 


71 


72 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Mother Flower suggested that this was 
a very good way to write a letter to a per¬ 
son away from home, for so few things 
happened in a day, the letter would be 
more interesting if written in that way. 

Fred called, “Good bye, good bye,” and 
with the trusty old travelling-bag was 
soon out of sight. 

He came back and said, “Oh Flora, I 
forgot something. What flower shall we 
study while we are apart?” 

Flora thought a minute and then an¬ 
swered, “I will study the daisy.” 

Fred thought a good while and they 
both smiled when he called, “Forget-Me- 
Not.” 

He was really off this time. 

Flora lost no time in going down to the 
meadow for she was lonesome without 
Fred. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 73 


She sat down amid a field of daisies. 

There were daisies, daisies everywhere 
about her. 

One daisy more friendly than the rest 
nodded to her and said, 

“We are common daisies, if you please, 

But related to the Japanese; 

Study my petals, every one, 

I’m related to Chrysanthemum.” 

“My! indeed, I did not know you had 
relatives across the sea,” exclaimed 
Flora, “but I do know that all poets loved 
you, Daisy, and wrote sweet poems about 
you.” 

“Why don’t you make up a song about 
me?” asked the daisy, swaying to and fro 
in the meadow. 

Flora often made up little songs and 
the Daisy looked to her so like a real child 


74s Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


that she sang, to the tune of “Lightly 
Row.” 


“To and fro, to and fro, 

Daisy buds all like to grow, 

To and fro, to and fro, 

[When the breezes blow; 

Daisy buds are never shy,. 
Nodding to the passers by, 

To and fro, to and fro, 

Singing sweet and low.” 

The Daisy said, 

“I could tell you stories for hours and 
hours; 

In my centre are hundreds of little 
flowers.” 

Flora clapped her hands with delight 
and looked very closely at the centre of 
the daisy. Sure enough, there were 
many little flowers in the yellow centre. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 75 


The Daisy said.. “I hope many birds and 
butterflies will visit me. I just love visit¬ 
ors and I dress as gayly as I can to at¬ 
tract their attention. See my pretty white 
petals! 

“There is a legend about the flowers, 
that though they were once all white and 
became colored, some of them were not 
satisfied, and that is the reason that some 
flowers have spots of white upon them. 
It is because they want to be white again. 

I know more stories, as you shall see; 

I belong to the Thistle Family. 

“I will tell you about some of my rela¬ 
tives. 

“The Michaelmas Daisy that you see 
Is one of the Thistle Family; 

It is like a Thistle, if you please, 
‘Farewell-Summer,’ is a name for 
these; 


76 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Some folks that I think are lazy 
Say Purple Aster for Purple Daisy.” 

“Are there any other relations in your 
family?” asked Flora with interest, and 
the Daisy replied as it still nodded to and 
fro in the breeze, 

“The Ox-Eye Daisy likes to grow, 

By the roadside as you know, 

Very like a sun flower tall, 

Growing by the garden wall. 

“My cousins tell me many stories of 
their butterfly visitors.” 

Just then a Spotty-Winged butterfly 
alighted on the Daisy and said. “Do you 
know, when I was a caterpillar I folded 
a leaf together and stitched it with silk 
threads, and one day I awoke a happy 
butterfly.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 77 


The Daisy said, 

“The butterfly I am glad to meet; 

My other name is Marguerite.” 

Flora said, “I know the French and 
Germans call you ‘Marguerite’ and this 
name means ‘pearl;’ your petals are sure¬ 
ly as white as a pearl.” 

Many of the Saint Marguerites have 
loved Daisies, and some of them had 
them embroidered upon their robes and 
cloaks, and some of them even wore Dai¬ 
sies as their favorite flowers. 

The Daisy said, 

“To cast a charm is in my power, 

The French call me an Easter Flower, 
My light, by day I cast a-far, 

The Welsh call me a Trembling Star; 
Such fancies set my head a-whirl, 
The Germans call me Meadow 
Pearl.” 


78 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Flora said, “Now I will gather my arms 
full of beautiful white daisies and I will 
write a letter to Fred when I get home 
and tell him Daisy stories.” 

The Daisy said, “Stay a little longer 
and tell me what you know about buds. 
Can you tell a leaf-bud from a flower- 
bud? Can you tell the color and shape of 
a Daisy Bud and do you know whether we 
grow far apart on the stem or close to¬ 
gether?” 

Flora answered, 

“There are so many things to learn: 

I’ll study Daisy Buds in turn.” 

Flora took a great armfull of Daisies 
in-doors and put them in a vase on the 
table. 

Instead of writing a letter to Fred she 
painted a picture of the Flowers to send 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 79 


him, and before she had it quite finished, 
“Ting-a-ling” rang the door bell and the 
Postman handed her a box. She opened 
it and took out blue Forget-Me-Nots. 

She said, “I will arrange some of these 
with the Daisies and paint them too.” 

Tucked inside the box of flowers was a 
letter. 

This is the letter that Fred wrote, 

“Dear Flora: 

I am hard at work in the greenhouse 
and happy as can be, for I am learning 
useful things and I love to be among the 
flowers. When I get home we will build 
a little greenhouse of our own, and the 
Fairies will come in and live among our 
potted plants. 

I send you to-day Forget-Me-Nots be¬ 
cause I am thinking about you, and I 


80 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


have heard so many legends about this 
flower I hardly know which one to tell 
you. 

One story says that an unhappy lover 
leaped to his death in a stream calling, 
‘Forget-Me-Not/ and the little blue flow¬ 
ers sprang up where he had stood. 

Another story says a lad went hunting 
Fairy Gold and filled his pockets with it, 
while the Fairies called, ‘You forgot 
something, you forgot something better 
than gold/ They meant he had forgot¬ 
ten to even notice the flower. 

When the lad came out of Fairyland 
he had only dried leaves in his pockets. 

The Persians tell a story of an angel 
weeping outside Paradise for his earthly 
love he had left behind him. 

She planted Forget-Me-Nots all over 
the world and was then allowed to join 









































■Viia. 










Flora And Fred in Flowerland 81 


her angel lover, and enter Paradise, for 
their love was so great he had returned 
to earth to help her plant the tiny flowers 
and they said, ‘Love is the greatest thing 
in the world.’ 

The ring in the center of the flower has 
a meaning, too. It helps insects find the 
pollen and protects the flower’s nectar 
from rain. 

You know how often we have been to¬ 
gether and gathered the Field Forget- 
Me-Not, and we have called it “Mouse- 
Ear.” 

You know these flowers last a long 
time and the plant continually puts out 
more blooms. 

I am learning what plants like dry soil 
and what plants like moisture, and I am 
learning how to pot plants and learning 
many more useful things, too. 


82 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


As soon as we build our greenhouse, I 
want to plant carnations. 

You were going to write me about the 
Daisies but I wish you would paint a pic¬ 
ture of them for me instead. 

I could keep the picture up on my bed¬ 
room wall. 

Hoping to see you soon, 

Your loving brother 
Fred.” 

Flora kept Fred’s letter and read it 
over and over again and Mother Flower 
said they soon would build a small green¬ 
house and raise carnations. 

Tommy Trowel, who had been idle a 
long time, said, 

“Fun for you and fun for me, 

In the new greenhouse, you’ll agree.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 83 


The old dusty flower-pots in the cellar 
were all excitement. 

Said one pot, “Hour by hour 
I’ll dream of holding a lovely flower.” 
Horace Hoe and Sarah Spade began to 
talk in whispers, 

“We did not understand all they said, 
But think they talked of Brother Fred; 
There are many things to understand, 
When you visit Flowerland!” 








Chapter Six 
A SURPRISE PARTY 

LILACS 









CHAPTER 6 


THE SURPRISE PARTY 
LILACS 

Flora was busy writing invitations. 

She was writing invitations to a party. 

She asked all her guests to come 
dressed as flowers and she asked many 
of them to dress like some kind of a lily. 

She said, “I will dress like a Philadel¬ 
phia Lady, or Red-Wood Lily.” 

She was giving the party as a surprise 
for Fred who was soon expected home. 

She said to her little friends, “Please 
come dressed like a Trout Lily or Black¬ 
berry Lily, or White Pond Lily, or Yellow 


87 


88 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Pond Lily, or White Wood Lily, or Tiger 
Lily, or Lily-Of-The-Valley.” 

She added that they would tell stories 
and play flower games. 

Flora’s friends were delighted to come, 
of course, and Fred had sent a great box 
of Lilacs, so Flora arranged them in vas¬ 
es. There were purple lilacs and white 
lilacs, and as she waited for her guests 
they whispered to her. 

The Lilacs said, 

“I’ll tell you a story for a quarter of an 
hour 

The name ‘Lilag’ means a flower; 

The ‘Lilag’ in Persia longed to roam, 
And so, I left my far-off home; 

With the Puritans I came, 

And ‘Lilac’ then became my name; 
And I will tell you this, my child. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 89 


In South Europe, I grow wild. 

Pipe stems are made of me, you see, 
So, I am called the Blow-Pipe Tree: 
Lilac bushes grow together, 

Sometimes called the Prince’s Feather; 
The purple Lilacs became white, 
Upon a grave in a single night 
Call us Lilac, or Prince’s Feather, 
Purple and white we bloom together.” 

“Oh, you sweet things, how I love you!” 
cried Flora. “Some day we may have Li¬ 
lac bushes in our own yard.” 

Each lilac answered in its place, 
“Put plenty of water in the vase 
We are very proud, you see, 

To belong to the Syringa Family; 
Common Lilac has heart-shaped 
leaves, you know, 

While Persian Lilac oblong leaves 
will grow; 


90 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


And there is another thing to be 
stated, 

We grow either wild or cultivated.” 

The Lilacs talked so merrily that Flora 
was surprised when her little friends 
came trooping in and Fred arrived too. 

Flora cried, with laugh so hearty, 
“Hurrah, for our surprise party.” 

Fred was surprised and delighted, too. 

Each Flower- Child made a bow and 
said something pleasant. 

Said the Trout Lily, “We grow beside 

Many a brook where shy trout hide; 

We like to grow where the ground is 
wet, 

And are also named Dog-Tooth Violet.” 

The gay Turk’s Cap Lily came dancing 
forward and said. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 91 


“I’m glad you don’t think jingles silly, 

I am Turk’s Cap or Turban Lily; 

I grew beside the railroad track, 

And I am glad to welcome Freddy back. 
Here is a secret, I’d declare, 

I grow brighter in salt air; 

See my petals backward curled, 

I’m the TALLEST LILY IN THE 
WORLD.” 

The Blackberry Lily, orange colored 
with crimson and purple centre, said gay- 
ly, 

“The Blackberry Lily, now you see 
I belong to the Iris Family: 

I’m a run-away flower, you will agree, 
For I came from China, across the 
sea.” 

Next, the Water-Lily made a bow and 
said, 

“What do you think? what do you think? 
I’m the Water-Lily white or pink; 


92 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


When winged insects are passing by, 

Queen of aquatic plants am I.” 

The White Wood-Lily next came up 
and gathered all the children round and 
told a story: 

“A knight of old was lonely. 

Once upon a time he wandered in the 
woods at night and saw a Lily-White 
Maid. He took her to his castle and mar¬ 
ried her and all went well until a travel¬ 
ling minstrel entered and sang of love 
and war. They had a great feast and 
merry time. 

Suddenly, the minstrel sang of heaven. 

The Lily - White Maid drooped as 
though touched with frost, and as she 
sighed, the fragrance of Lilies filled the 
room. The Maid had turned into a beau¬ 
tiful Lily. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 93 


Every year, on a certain night, the 
Knight went out and planted Lilies in 
memory of the Lily-White Maid.” 

The Lily-Of-The-Valley bobbed up and 
said, 

“To tell a legend I will begin; 
Who should conquer the Dragon, Sin? 
St. Leonard, known to England’s 
fame, 

Met the Dragon, Sin, by name; 

He conquered him and says it is true 
For each drop of blood a lily grew.” 

“This is a battle we all can win,” 

The Lily-Bells chimed, “as he con¬ 
quered Sin.” 

“What a wonderful story!” said all the 
Flower Children. “Come, let us play a 
Flower Game.” 

They formed a circle and pretended to 
plant flowers, while one child, chosen as 


94 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


a Flower picker, ran round outside the 
circle with a lily. At the close of the song, 
this child dropped the lily behind another 
child who took his place, and the game 
continued. 

They all skipped round the circle, sing¬ 
ing to the tune of “Twinkle, Little Star,” 

“Round the circle we will go, 
Planting Lilies, as you know, 

In our garden now will bloom 
Lilies fair with sweet perfume.” 

After they had played this game for 
some time, they played a game called 
“Flower Basket.” 

One child stood in the centre of a circle 
and said, 

“Who’ll fill my basket now today? 

Who’ll help me make a big bouquet?” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 95 


Any child who could name a flower ran 
inside the circle and named a flower, and 
took the other child’s place, repeating the 
verse. Any child could end the game by 
saying, 

“We’ll end our play, we’ll end our play, 

The basket is full of flowers today.” 

The children played another game,fill¬ 
ing the basket, when called on, by nam¬ 
ing flowers beginning with letters of the 
alphabet, in order. 

They stood in two lines opposite each 
other and the Florist ran between the 
lines and called on a child to name a flow¬ 
er beginning with “A,” “B,” and so on. 
He must do so quickly or go out of the 
game. The side won who had the most 
in line when a signal was given. 

A tiny, tinkling voice now sang, 

“You are full of fun and wide awake, 
So, an Acrostic we will make.” 


96 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


“What is an Acrostic?” asked the chil¬ 
dren, and the tiny, tinkling voice an¬ 
swered, 

“The letters read downward, I have 
heard, 

Will always spell for you a word.” 

The children looked at the lovely vase 
of lilacs and said, “Let us make an Acros¬ 
tic now.” 

They made an Acrostic out of the word 
“Lilac.” 

Love all flowers and give them care, 

In gardens old grow Lilacs fair, 

Look at their colors, purple and white, 
All sweet-scented, fair to sight, 
Cultivate your flowers bright. 

The children tried next to see how 
many words they could make out of the 
letters in the word “Lilac.” They repeat- 


4 


























































* 













































Flora And Fred in Flowerland 97 

ed the letters as many times as they 
pleased. 

Flora said, 

“Some lilacs droop; is that a token 
That some word they would have 
spoken?” 

Fred said, 

“The Lilac is an old-fashioned flower, 

And said to have a magic power.” 

To their surprise, the Lilacs began to 
swing to and fro, to and fro, and they 
knew the fairy must be hidden in them 
for a tiny, tinkling voice began to recite 
some verses by a great poet, Walt Whit¬ 
man: 

“There was a child went forth every day, 

And the first object he looked upon, 
that object he became; 





98 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


And that object became part of him for 
the day or a 

Certain part of the day, 

Or for many years, or stretching cycles 
of years. 

The early lilacs became part of the 
child, 

And grass, and white and red morning 
glories, and white 

And red clover, and the song of the 
phoebe-bird. 

These became part of that child who 
went forth every day 

And who now goes, and will always go 
forth every day.” 

Flora liked this poem so well she 
learned every word of it by heart, and 
Fred said, “When our greenhouse is fin¬ 
ished what a wonderful time we will have 
with the Fairies and the Flowers.” 


Chapter Seven 

THE CHINA HEN AND 
EVERY-DAY HEN 




CHAPTER 7 


THE CHINA HEN AND EVERY-DAY 
HEN 

The China Hen started the trouble, and 
all because Mother Flower set her out¬ 
side when she was house cleaning-. 

The China Hen met the Every-Day Hen 
who had strayed into the garden and 
said, “Who are you?” 

“Who are you?” echoed the China Hen. 

The Every-Day Hen walked round the 
China Hen who sat on her nest and said, 
“How old are you?” 

“A hundred years old,” replied the 
China Hen coolly. 

Surely, she was a curiosity for she had 
been in the family for generations. She 


101 


102 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


said when eggs were boiled and placed 
in her china nest on the table she kept 
them warm for the family, when they 
came late to the meal. 

The Every Day Hen said, “You must 
know all the family secrets.” 

The China Hen laughed and said, 
“Once a year I am set out in the sunshine 
when house-cleaning time comes, but I 
am not used much now for I am out of 
date. I am afraid I will be put up in the 
garret. Now, you are free. Why don’t 
you enjoy yourself? I saw the children 
planting flower seeds. Why don’t you dig 
them up?” 

The Every-Day Hen said, “I will follow 
your advice.” 

She began to dig in the flower beds. 

She did not see Sarah Spade or Horace 
Hoe frowning at her from the shed win- 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 103 


dow. They said to each other, 

“There’s the Every-Day Hen, a terrible 
rover; 

Soon we will do our work all over.” 

The Every-Day Hen scratched up many 
seeds that day, and even dug up some 
Phlox before Fred and FlQra saw what 
she was doing. 

They ran out into the garden in a hur¬ 
ry, you may be sure, and called, 

“Every Day Hen, how did you know 
Flowers are planted in even rows?” 

The Every-Day Hen cackled loudly but 
the China Hen kept still as still could be. 

It took some time for the Phlox seeds 
the children had planted to grow and 
some time for the flowers to appear. 


104 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 

One day Flora came running in from 
the garden and said, “Oh Fred, come and 
see! The Phlox are blooming and the 
colors are wonderful.” 

A tiny, tinkling voice cried, 

“Pick any flower that you desire; 

‘Phlox’ is the name Greeks give to 
‘fire.’ ” 

“How much there is to learn!” ex¬ 
claimed Flora. “I never knew before that 
‘Phlox’ meant ‘fire’.” 

Fred said, “I wonder if we can name all 
the colors in this wonderful garden bed.” 

They were saved the trouble, for the 
Fairy sang, 

“I can sing some things, my child; 

Phlox is cultivated or wild. 

So many colored Phlox you said! 

See them purple, crimson, red, 

Lilac, magenta and deep pink, 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 105 


Purple and cream white are here, I 
think; 

Salmon pink, solferino, and pale yel¬ 
low, 

Dance with the breeze who’s a friend¬ 
ly fellow.” 

“Is there any color, I wonder, not found 
in Phlox?” said Fred thoughtfully. 

Flora said, “So far, I have never found 
a scarlet or orange-colored Phlox, but 
truly these flowers have many different 
colors. See how star-shaped the flowers 
are and how some of them are marked 
with other colors.” 

Fred said, 

‘Here is a Phlox of which I’ve heard, 

Called “The star of Quedlinburg; 

They flower from June, with little cost, 

Until they’re claimed by old Jack 
Frost.” 


106 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


This last mentioned flower was curious 
to look at. 

Just then a Blue-bird sailed into the 
garden and sang about the Wild Blue 
Phlox and Wild Sweet William, 

“I meet flowers and talk with them; 
The Phlox is sticky on its stem; 

To catch insects is in their power, 
Who steal sweets from many a flow¬ 
er; 

The ways of Phlox are very wise, 
They have narrow tubes for butter¬ 
flies; 

Tho’ butterfly is a jolly rover, 

He’s loved by Phlox the world over.” 

Fred said, “What a wonderful world 
we are living in, and how wonderful Flow¬ 
erland is when we come to know some of 
its secrets. I never knew before that 
flowers are shaped and colored to invite 
certain kinds of visitors.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 107 


A Butterfly sailing by said, 

“Something fragrant, what do you think? 
Belongs to the Phlox Family, the Moss- 
Pink, 

And the Crawling Phlox, upon the 
ground, 

Six inches long I’ve truly found, 

And Downy Phlox, you understand, 
Brightens the dry prairie land. 

I am their chief visitor, if you please, 
But they entertain long-tongued bees.” 

A Blue-Bottle Fly, buzzing past said, 
“I am looking for the Obedient Plant.” 

The children said, “What a funny 
name! What do you mean?” 

The Blue-Bottle Fly answered, 

“These flowers stay wherever they go; 
It is really fun to blow and blow; 

This is a useful trick, let me explain, 
To turn the flowers’ mouths from rain; 


108 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Their open lips also invite 

Many an insect on its flight.” 

“This is my garden,” said the Blue bird, 
settling on its nest in the cherry tree. 

“This is my garden,” said the Blue Bot¬ 
tle Fly, and the Busy Bees echoed his very 
words. 

“This is my garden,” said the Chip¬ 
munk, peeping at the children shyly. “I 
will tell you why my back is striped, if you 
like.” 

“Long, long ago, one of my ancestors 
lived in a tree near the sea and as the 
waves rose higher and higher all day 
long, he beat them with his tail. 

“By and by the Great Sea-God said, 
‘What are you doing, my little fellow?’ 

“The Chipmunk answered, ‘I am trying 
to drive the sea back with my tail. I am 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 109 


trying to save my family home from a 
flood.’ 

“The Great Sea-God said, T will calm 
the sea and take you home.’ He left the 
mark of his fingers on my ancestor’s back 
and we are proud of the stripes we all 
bear.” 

The children said they would like to 
spend all day in the garden but they had 
spent a happy hour with the Phlox and 
the garden visitors. They laughed when 
the Blue bird flew away, singing, 

“Tho’ I am Blue-bird, a jolly rover, 
This garden is mine, as you’ll discov¬ 
er.” 

The stars that shone down into the 
garden that night sang, 

“This is our garden, yours and mine; 
Upon it every night we shine.” 


110 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


A Merry Breeze, passing by, sang, 

“The Merry Breeze is singing a song, 
To me this garden doth belong, 

With all its birds and bees and flowers, 
And all its happy summer hours.” 

Flora said next day, “Come, Fred, we 
must weed the garden.” 

Fred said, “I will take out the hose and 
water it for everything is dry, so dry.” 

Horace Hoe and Sarah Spade were hap¬ 
py to come out of the shed and help, and 
the children had a merry day. 

Fred used the garden hose carefully 
and all the flowers grew refreshed and 
lifted their heads. 

Fred said to Flora, “Put your head 
down close to the earth and listen.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 111 


The children heard the thirsty flowers 
drinking in the water with a tinkling 
sound. Every leaf and bud and flower 
seemed to whisper, “Thank You.” 

“I have heard the same sound when we 
water flowers in a pot,” said Flora, “and 
I know some flowers want more water 
than others. It is fine to know that flow¬ 
ers have feelings as well as we have.” 

They gathered an arm-full of Phlox 
for themselves and their next door neigh¬ 
bor. 

The Phlox they put in the vase nodded 
to the Old China Hen on the side board 
and said, 

“We owe you no thanks, no indeed, 
You told the Hen to scatter the seed.” 

The Old China Hen looked very wise 
and said, 


112 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


“Very true, very true, 

But I am company for you; 
Everything has its time and place 
You look pretty in your vase.” 

Just then the Spinning Spider peeped 
in the window and cried, 

“I am an intruder—I beg your pardon, 

But don’t forget this is MY garden.” 

The children laughed and said, “To 
whom does this garden belong after all?” 

Said the Mad March Hare, 

“I can say, without rhyme or reason, 

I appear almost any season.” 

The Reasonable Rabbit and Shy Squir¬ 
rel whisked about and said in their own 
language, 

“Feathers or fur, feathers or fur, 

If you could choose which would you 
prefer? 














Flora And Fred in Flowerland 113 


This garden is ours, you understand; 
We all are merry in Flowerland.” 

The Phlox in the vase waved a little as 
the Merry Breeze blew in the window and 
said, 

“The Phlox will bring you happy hours, 

For we’re really old-fashioned flowers; 

Our ways are really old-fashioned; ’tis 
true, 

And we bring an old-fashioned wish to 
you; 

Fred and Flora, we wish today 

You may always be happy, and good, 
and gay.” 





Chapter Eight 

A PICNIC IN FLOWERLAND 

PEONIES AND SYRINGA 



CHAPTER 8 


A PICNIC IN FLOWERLAND 
POPPIES AND SYRINGA 

One morning' Flora and Fred ran out 
into their garden and saw a strange little 
girl walking up and down between the 
Peonies. When she saw them she made 
a courtesy and said, 

“I am a stranger, I beg your pardon; 

I belong in Mistress Mary’s garden.” 

“Oh, oh, oh,” cried the children togeth¬ 
er. “Do take us with you to visit Mis¬ 
tress Mary’s Garden in Mother Goose 
Land.” 

The little girl laughed as she bowed 
and said, 


117 


118 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


“I am not always quite contrary, 
But, I myself, am Mistress Mary.” 

“Hurrah, hurrah,” cried the children. 
“Let us run with you to your garden.” 

Fred took one of the little girl’s hands 
and Flora took the other hand and they 
ran over hill and dale, but Mistress Mary 
began to grow contrary, and said, “In¬ 
stead of taking you to my garden today 
I will take you to my picture gallery.” 

“Picture gallery,” said the children in 
one breath. “We do hope the pictures 
will be of flowers.” 

By and by they came to a house in Prim¬ 
rose Hill and Mistress Mary said, 

“Follow me, and you will see 
Many a charming mystery.” 

“It does seem dark and mysterious, 
said Fred. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 119 


“It does seem different from Flower- 
land,” said Flora. 

Soon they came to a Picture Gallery 
and a girl named Peony tapped them on 
the shoulder and said, 

“Tell me your names, if you please; 

I am a flower, too, like these.” 

She pointed to the pictures on the walls, 
and continued, 

“What is your story, what is your name? 

Please tell Peony why you came.” 

She wore a red hat and a green dress 
and looked the perfect picture of a peo¬ 
ny. 

Flora said, 

“We are Flora and Fred, you under¬ 
stand; 


120 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


We are happy children of Flower- 
land.” 

Peony said, “I suppose every child has 
a story to tell and every Flower has a 
story to tell, too, of course.” 

Flora said, “Pretty Peony, do tell us 
your story.” 

Peony began, “ You may call it a Fairy 
Story, or Legend, or anything you like, 
but I will tell you about my life in China 
years and years ago. 

“Once upon a time I saw a Chinese 
scholar in his garden caring for flowers. 
I saw, also, that his house needed to be 
put in order and I went to work, singing, 

‘Cho-So-San needs company; 

He is just as lonesome as can be.’ 

“I hired out to Cho-So-San as a servant, 
and I soon saw all he knew and cared for 






























* 























Flora And Fred in Flowerland 121 


was books and flowers. I made him com¬ 
fortable and sang, 

‘Your place seems lonesome without me, 

Peony will stay for company.’ 

“I often helped him with his studies, 
too, and often walked with him in the 
garden. 

“One day, as I did not answer his call, 
he came to look for me in a Picture Gal¬ 
lery like this. I flattened myself against 
a picture frame, just like this, saying, 

‘I am not a real maid, you see, 

I am just the soul of the Peony.” 

To the astonishment of the children the 
girl named Peony, faded now into a pic¬ 
ture upon the wall. 

Fred said, “Don’t you dare fade away 
like that, Flora, dear.” 


122 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Flora clasped his hand and said, “What 
a beautiful story. I will always think of 
the soul of the flower now when we go to 
gather Peonies.” 

Mistress Mary seemed to have disap¬ 
peared but a dainty little girl named 
Syringa tapped them on the shoulders 
and said, 

“I am Mock-Orange or Syringa; 

I hope you will decide to linger.” 

Fred said, “ Dear me, you look much 
like a branch of our syringa at home. 
You have cream-colored flowers in your 
hair so fragrant, and your manners are 
very cultivated.” 

The Syringa laughed merrily, saying, 

“Hippety-hop, hippety-hop, 

Come to the Flowers’ Curiosity Shop.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 123 


“Do the Flowers have a Curiosity- 
Shop?” asked Fred. 

Flora said, “Is there a Curiosity Shop 
in Flowerland?” 

Syringa said, quite as though she had 
not heard their question, 

“If we search for quarter of an hour, 
We may find the Pin-Cushion Flower.” 

“What a funny name,” said Flora. 
“Does this flower really and truly look 
like a pin-cushion?” 

They discovered the little Pin-Cushion- 
Flower and the light colored antlers did 
look like pin-heads! 

Syringa said, “Sometimes the Pin- 
Cushion Flower is called The Mourning 
Bride,’ and it belongs really in an Old- 
Fashioned garden.” 


124 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 

“Next,” said Syringa, “I do believe 

We will come on Adam and Eve.” 

The children were eager to see what 
they could find. 

They came upon a curious orchid with 
dark flowers and two corms hardly hid¬ 
den in the ground. These bulbs were con-* 
nected by a stalk. Each year a bulb was 
formed and Cain and Abel were said to 
join their parents. 

Syringa continued, “Catch her, catch 
her, she is running away. The Baby is 
running away.” 

Sure enough, Baby’s Breath, or Grape 
Hyacinth, had run away and was dotting 
the meadows with a blue flower, as faint¬ 
ly fragrant as a baby’s breath. 

Syringa said, 

“Hurry on, if you are nimble; 

Lady’s Thumb and Lady’s Thimble, 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 125 


Lady’s Slipper comes in view, 
Much too small for me or you; 

Use your eyes now looking up, 

See the Scarlet-Painted Cup; 
Pitchfork, or Bur-Marigold, 

Will stick to your dress, we are told; 
Now, step lightly as you pass, 

Here is Shepherd’s Weather Glass; 
Tick, tick, tock, tick tick, tock, 
Here is a flower called ‘Ten O’Clock;’ 
Then, here is a flower very funny, 
Because we call it ‘Witches’ Money;’ 
Says Skunk Cabbage, ‘How do you 
feel?’ 

Shall we have a Flower meal?’ ” 

Syringa blew a fairy whistle and all 
the Fairy Folk from Flowerland came and 
spread a cloth and brought delightful 
things to eat and drink. 

There were the Beef-steak plant, and 
Butter-and-Eggs, and Wild Peanuts, 


126 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 

Skunk Cabbage, and the Pitcher Plant 
poured out for them Oswego Tea. 

The Fairies declared that this feast was 
purchased with Witches’ Money. 

Flora and Fred danced in a magic ring 
and just as they were going to eat and 
drink, the flower-food disappeared for 
He who eats and drinks in Flowerland 
Can never go back, you understand; 
He will grow wings like canary or linnet, 
And become a Fairy in just one minute. 

The children said, “What a happy day 
we have had,” and as they ran home Fred 
stopped by a Syringa bush and gath¬ 
ered some flowers and Flora gathered 
red and pink Peonies. 

She said softly, 

“You told a beautiful story, I think, 
Peonies red—Peonies pink.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 127 


Fred said, 

“Some day I will run and never stop 

Till I reach the Flowers’ Curiosity Shop. 

Memories of this day will linger 

When I pick the sweet Syringa.” 

When the children put their bouquet 
in the brass vase it looked pretty on the 
table. 

Mother Flower had a surprise for them. 
She said, “See the Greenhouse is finished 
at last, and tomorrow we will sow seeds 
and put in slips, and begin to raise flow¬ 
ers in-doors.” 

“Tomorrow, tomorrow,” cried the chil¬ 
dren. 

The flowers in the vase trembled. 

“Sweet dreams for you and me,” 
Said Syringa and Peony. 


























Chapter Nine 
BILLY GREENHOUSE 

ROSES 

























CHAPTER 9 


BILLY GREENHOUSE 
ROSES 

Billy Greenhouse was jolly and Billy 
Greenhouse was roly-poly and he had a 
smile so sunny that everyone liked him. 

He was a green house man who knew 
what you should plant and when you 
should plant, if you wanted to have flow¬ 
ers bloom in-doors in winter. 

He came and showed Flora and Fred 
what to plant in their greenhouse and by 
and by they raised lovely hot-house Ros¬ 
es. 


Said the Pink Moss-Bud, “I am your 
pride; 


181 


132 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Please make of me a bouquet for a 
bride.” 

Then the QUEEREST THING HAP¬ 
PENED. 

“Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,” went the tele¬ 
phone and an order came for a bouquet 
of Moss Rose-Buds for a bride. 

The children tried to learn skill from 
Billy Greenhouse in making a bouquet. 
He had a silver flower-holder which he 
sometimes loaned for a bride’s bouquet. 

Sometimes, when flowers were bloom¬ 
ing very freely in his greenhouse, he 
would say, 

“They bloom morning, noon, and night, 

And never a funeral is in sight.” 

The children smiled at his queer re¬ 
marks. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 133 


Fred said, “The yellow roses look as 
though they wanted to go to a party.” 

Just then, the bell rang, and in came a 
customer who wanted roses for a party. 
He said there were to be yellow favors 
and yellow candles, and yellow lanterns, 
so they must order yellow roses, of 
course. 

Flora remarked, 

“Roses cheerful, roses red, 

Should go to one ill in bed.” 

Right away, some one ordered, through 
the mail, a bunch of roses for a sick neigh¬ 
bor. So it went on all day long. 

Flora and Fred enjoyed the Green¬ 
house business and when night came 
they always had a big bunch of flowers 
on the table. 


134 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Tonight a few petals fell from the yel¬ 
low Roses and Flora said, “Perhaps the 
Yellow Rose has a story to tell.” 

Instead of talking about itself, one of 
the Yellow Roses remarked, “My cousins, 
the Wild Roses, run about the roadside 
and meadows everywhere. 

Five petals and five sepals see 
In almost any variety. 

“You see, the Wild Rose has five petals, 
while I have so many, many petals, it 
would be a task to count them all. 

“Why do you suppose we wear thorns, 
or prickles, upon us?” 

The children made several guesses but 
could not tell the real reason and the Yel¬ 
low Rose continued. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 131 


“The thorn has a use, every one believes; 

From hungry cattle it protects our 
leaves. 

“The Wild Rose has many secrets. It 
has hairs in its calice to keep insects from 
stealing its pollen, and the Wild Rose said 
long ago, it wanted to grow far and wide, 
so it put its seeds in a bright red hip to 
attract birds who dropped the seeds far 
away. 

‘The green flies are the Rose’s ene¬ 
mies though Butterflies and Bees are its 
friends, but alas, the Butterflies often 
pass me by for they are not very fond of 
yellow. 

“Roses are important in history. 

“A Rose placed over a door in ancient 
Rome meant that no one must tell any¬ 
thing said or done while inside.” 


136 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Fred said, “That must be the reason 
we use the word ‘sub-rosa.’ ” 

The Pink Roses now said in a sing-song 
kind of way, looking at Flora, 

“There are so many wonders, child; 
The Dwarf Rose is also running wild, 
A dwelling place for Elf or Fairy, 
And flowers mostly solitary.”' 

“Tell us about the Dog-Rose or Wild 
Brier,” said Fred. 

The Pink Roses continued, 

“Wild Brier is not fragrant, as you 
would suppose, 

But it goes by the name, also, of Dog- 
Rose.” 

The children reached forward to the 
bouquet in the vase and found a bunch 
of Sweet Brier that made the whole bou¬ 
quet fragrant. They found it was differ- 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 137 


ent from the Wild Brier, as there were 
glands under the leaves that sent out 
fragrance. 

Billy Greenhouse peeped in at the chil¬ 
dren and said, 

“Walls were built first, as a child sup¬ 
poses, 

But gardens were once hedged in with 
Roses.” 

Fred said, “Yes, I remember the Turk¬ 
ish people liked particularly the Yellow 
Rose, and Germans liked the Red Rose, 
and Japanese, the Tea Rose, and the 
Arabians, the Musk-Rose.” 

Flora said, 

“All Indian names surely please me, 

So we have the White Rose-Cherokee.” 

It was at this minute that Billy Green¬ 
house peeped in again and said, 


138 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


“Rubber boots for Flora and Fred 
Make a nice surprise, it is said.” 

Billy Greenhouse had two pairs of rub¬ 
ber boots which he waved toward the 
children, and they cried, “Hurrah, hur¬ 
rah!” 

They put on the rubber boots and went 
with Billy Greenhouse to the Cat-Tail 
Marsh to look for Swamp-Rose Mallow. 

They took Sarah Spade and Horace 
Hoe with them. 

“Oh, oh, oh, it is so slippery!” cried 
Flora. 

Fred suddenly sat down and had to be 
helped up. 

They were all very merry. 

Finally they found the Rose they were 
looking for, and dug it up by the roots 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 139 


to transplant in the greenhouse. 

It was fun to dash and splash about in 
the rubber boots. 

The frogs were making music and 
Flora said, “Hear the old Frogs! they are 
giving us a concert.” 

Billy Greenhouse fortunately carried 
a lantern, for suddenly Flora cried, “Help, 
help, I am sinking in the bog.” 

Her feet were going down, down, down. 

Fred rescued her and pulled her out 
and Billy Greenhouse said, “I will take 
you both home with me and you can ride 
with Swamp-Rose Mallow in the wheel¬ 
barrow.” 

While they rode homeward Billy Green¬ 
house taught them to sing “The Last 
Rose of Summer,” an old English Song of 
the 17th Century. They all sang, 


140 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 

“ ’Tis the last rose of summer, 

Left blooming alone, 

All her lovely companions 
Are faded and gone, 

No flow’r of her kindred, 

No rosebud is nigh, 

To reflect back her blushes, 

Or give sigh for sigh.” 

Billy Greenhouse said, 

“There is no other flower, I suppose, 
With as many legends as the Rose.” 

He said, “The story is told of Prince 
Trandafir, born of a rose-bud, who grew 
to manhood and took part in the affairs 
of life. Growing tired of his life on earth, 
he went back to look for his Rose Mother. 
All the birds sang, ‘She has gone, gone, 
gone, but the Nightingale chants her 
song/ 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 141 


“The Prince heard the Nightingale 
sing of the Rose-Tree Mother, and the 
Prince who went into the wide world. 

“He said, ‘Oh, that I might become a 
rose again.’ 

“He sank on the earth, and down, down, 
he began to grow roots, and up, up came 
the bushes. 

“When the Prince disappeared, up 
came a rose, and he had gone to live in 
Flowerland.” 

“Are there any other Rose Legends?” 
asked the children. 

Billy Greenhouse answered, “There 
are so many pretty stories I cannot tell 
them all even if I stay and tell you a story 
every day for a year and a day. 

“The Saxon peasants often say, 
When a little child is taken away, 


142 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


The Angel comes at that very hour, 
And from the garden plucks the rose 
flower. 

The Scandinavians now suppose 
Dwarfs and Fairies guard each rose; 
In France a pretty custom is seen, 
The crowning of the sweet Rose 
Queen. 

“Another pretty story is told of Eliza¬ 
beth of Hungary. 

“Once she went to carry bread and meat 
to some peasants. Her husband met her 
and told her he would carry the parcels 
so she would not weary herself. She would 
not give them to him, however, and open¬ 
ing the paper, lo, the food for the poor 
had changed to roses, white and red roses, 
of sweet perfume. 

“Another story is called The Legend of 
the Rosary. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 143 


“It is said that a young man went out 
and placed a wreath of roses as a crown 
on the statue of the Virgin, in a lonely 
place. Later, he became a monk and had 
no time to perform this task. He said his 
prayers as he passed the statue for he 
had been told that prayers were as pre¬ 
cious as flowers. 

“Some robbers passed along and saw 
a light like an Angel appear beside the 
monk. The Angel put her hand on the 
monk’s lips and drew forth roses. His 
prayers had changed into roses. 

“The robbers asked to join him, and in 
time became good men.” 

Billy Greenhouse then said, “Good 
night,” and the children went to bed. 

They looked at their rubber boots a 
long time and Fred said, 


144 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


“Rubber Boots now we need not borrow; 
They will bring us happiness tomor¬ 
row.” 

Flora said, 


“Of stormy days I’ll not complain; 
I’ve rubber boots to wear in rain.” 


































































































- 



















■ 

. 












. 












Chapter Ten 
THE GIPSY CAMP 

VERBENAS AND MARGUERITES 




















CHAPTER 10 


THE GIPSY CAMP 

VERBENAS AND MARGUERITES 

On Hallowe’en Night, when the moon is 
bright, 

The Gipsy Van is near; 

On Hallowe’en Night, when the moon is 
bright, 

The Witches oft’ appear. 

It was the thirty-first of October. 

Flora and Fred had made great plans 
for Hallowe’en, but as it happened, they 
did not do a single thing they had intend¬ 
ed to do. 

Early that October morning Flora said, 
“I feel restless, you understand; 

Let us off and away to Flowerland.” 


147 


148 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Fred said, 

“Come on, we’ll hurry hand in hand, 
Far off and away to Flowerland.” 

As it was Saturday, they put on old 
clothes and started for the woods. On the 
way they picked ‘Witches’ Gold,’ and 
laughed and said. “The Witches will be 
after us if we pick this flower.” 

Next, they found some Witch Hazel in 
bloom. 

Said Fred, “Ha, ha, I remember, 

It rarely blooms before November.” 

Flora laughed and said, 

“This is the last day of October, 

The summer time is really over.” 

She said, “Let me have some Witch Ha¬ 
zel, too, then we can use real magic.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 149 


They each gathered Witch Hazel and 
Fred said, “I will make a divining rod. It 
is said with a Witch Hazel rod we can find 
hidden gold, hidden springs, and hidden 
mineral. 

“All I have to do is to carry the rod and 
it will point the way to the place where 
treasure is hidden. 

“I know a story about a great lover of 
flowers. He travelled with his secre¬ 
tary who believed in the power of Witch 
Hazel. 

“For a joke he hid some gold in a mea¬ 
dow and all the party tried to find it. He 
lost track of the place himself and, as 
luck would have it, his Secretary, with 
the Witch Hazel rod, found it.” 

“That was just a lucky find, wasn’t it?” 
asked Flora. 


150 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Fred said, “How do I know? Ask the 
poet Swift about it. He said, 

‘They tell us something strange and odd 

About a certain magic rod, 

That bending down, its top divines 

Where’er the soil has hidden mines; 

Where there are none it stands erect, 

Scorning to show the least respect.’ ” 

Flora said, “I know the early colonists 
often named things here for something 
they had known in England, and they 
named the Witch Hazel for the English 
Hazel Tree, though it is not much like it, 
except that the leaves are similar. So 
many stories are told of Witch Hazel, be¬ 
side its having a soothing effect. 

“I think a Witch must have planted it 
long ago. 

“It was a plant held sacred by the Dru¬ 
ids.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 151 


As the children talked, the yellow, 
curled flowers nodded in answer. The 
flowers were queer-looking, and made 
the children think of jugs, and in several 
of the flowers bees were sleeping. 

There was a murmur in the branches 
of the Witch Hazel Tree and the wind 
sang, 

“The Witch Hazel blooms quite late, it 
is true, 

And magic power bestows on you.” 

The Witch Hazel in the children’s 
hands pointed down to some purple ver¬ 
benas who cried, in flower language, 

“Witches gathering us are seen 
Late at night on Hallowe’en.” 

The children each picked a Verbena 
and stuck it in their button hole. 


152 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


They said, “We did not dream there 
were so many ‘Witch Flowers/ Almost 
anything" might happen now, and it 
would not surprise us.” 

THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED 
THAT WAS ENOUGH TO SURPRISE 
ANYBODY. 

They heard a great sighing and sob¬ 
bing, 

“A fortune for you, a dime or a penny, 

A fortune for you, I tell very many; 

I try to be always happy and good, 

But I’m lost in the woods, in the dark 
woods!” 

The children looked round a bush and 
saw a very tiny gipsy girl in gipsy dress, 
carrying a tambourine in her hand. 

She was really, truly lost in the woods, 
and so surprised she stopped singing her 
fortune telling song. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 153 


She said her name was Zampa and she 
was looking- for the Gipsy Van which 
would take them to the Gipsy Camp. She 
added that she had stayed behind to tell 
a few fortunes and earn a few pennies. 
She showed her pretty white teeth, as she 
shook sixteen pennies in her tambourine. 

Flora looked at Fred and Fred looked 
at Flora and they said, 

“Witch Hazel will show us where to go; 

Witch Hazel has magic, as you know. ,r 

The Witch Hazel rods they carried 
pointed south, so all three joining hands, 
the children ran through the woods on 
the path that led south, and soon Zampa 
set up a cry, “The Gipsy Van, the Gipsy 
Van.” 

Sure enough it was in sight. 

Now Flora and Fred had been told nev¬ 
er to ride with strangers, but it was near- 


154 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


ly the last night of October, and they had 
picked Witch Hazel, and the first thing 
they knew they were climbing after Zam- 
pa into the Gypsy Van. 

They rode away, away, away, to a real, 
true Gipsy Camp. 

The Gipsies were dancing and singing 
round the Camp fire. They welcomed the 
children and made remarks in whispers 
when they saw they were wearing verbe¬ 
nas. They called the plant different names 
as, “Enchanter’s Plant,” “Lightning 
Plant,” “Juno’s Tears.” 

They begged the children then for the 
Verbenas and, holding them high over 
their heads, said, 

“Verbenas cast on you a spell, 
Anything you ask they’ll tell; 

Ask for a present before you go, 

It will be yours before you know.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 155 


Fred and Flora asked for the first 
thing they saw, in one breath. It was a 
beautiful vase with flowers upon it. 

Fred said, talking to the vase, “Tell us 
where you came from and how you were 
made.” 

Zampa took them by the hand and they 
ran to a tent where an old, old Gipsy sat. 
He said, 

“I will tell you anything I can, 

My name is Prehistoric Man.” 

The children showed him the vase and 
asked how it was made. 

He said, “It will sound to you like a 
Fairy Tale, but it is true enough. One 
day I made a fire in a bed of clay and af¬ 
ter the fire went out the clay looked bowl¬ 
shaped. I found I could lift the clay up, 
so I said, T can make another clay bowl.’ 




156 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 

I made another bowl and baked it. When 
some sand ran down one side it became 
glazed. So the discoveries went on and 
everything from common flower-pots to 
china has been made. 

“I started with a ball of clay for this 
vase and kneaded it. I built up the sides 
next. 

“I built up the sides, working in a spi¬ 
ral round and round. With one hand in¬ 
side and one hand outside, I worked and 
fashioned and shaped it and made han¬ 
dles and stuck them on. 

“After burning the vase, I caused flow¬ 
ers to appear by magic.” 

Fred laughed and said, “You mean you 
had flowers painted on.” 

The old man smiled and said, 

“The memory in the vase still lingers 
Of the work of patient fingers.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 157 


The children returned to the Gipsy 
Camp and saw they had the ver¬ 
benas hanging on the tent flap for en¬ 
chantment. 

The children begged to have their for¬ 
tunes told but an old Gipsy looked at the 
verbenas and said, 

“Verbenas cast on all a spell, 
Where it will lead we cannot tell; 
In any color they will bloom, 
Flowers of rather rare perfume; 
From South America many came, 
Verbenas in color and in name. 

The Marguerites and daisies, too, 
An enchantment cast on you.” 

The Yellow Marguerites in the Gipsy 
Camp danced to and fro and said, “We 
are sunshine flowers. We reflect the col¬ 
or of the sun and wish to carry sunshine 
everywhere. Please pick us often and 


158 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 

take us to sick people, and sad people, 
and lonely people. We will scatter sun¬ 
shine everywhere.” 

The children gathered their hands full 
of Marguerites and asked to go home, for 
it was now moonlight, and Hallowe’en 
had indeed come. 

They were still under the spell of the 
verbenas but it was the Witch Hazel Rod 
that pointed to a large pumpkin. 

The pumpkin suddenly turned into a 
coach, and four tiny ponies appeared. 
The Gipsies said, 

“As Cinderella did of yore, 

You may ride in a coach-and-four.” 

Fred and Flora fairly held their breath 
while they got in the coach and Zampa 
took the driver’s seat and they rode in the 
direction pointed out by the Witch Hazel. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 159 


There were Witches and Jack O’ Lan¬ 
terns and Pumpkins abroad and 
Many a curious sight was seen, 

Late that night on Hallowe’en. 

When they got home they bade Zampa 
goodbye and she said, 

“A fortune for you—a dime or a penny, 

A fortune for you—I tell very many.” 

Flora gave her a dime and Fred gave 
her a penny. She handed each child a 
little pink envelope and said their for¬ 
tunes were inside. 

Handing them the beautiful vase, 
which was a gift from the Gipsies for 
leading Zampa saf ely home, she called to 
her ponies and was off and away. 

The children put the flowers they had 
gathered in the beautiful vase and ran 
merrily in-doors, shouting, 


160 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


“A fortune for you—a dime or a penny, 

A fortune for you—She tells very 
many." 

They guessed a long time what might 
be in the little pink envelopes. It seemed 
to be something small and round. 

They laughed when they opened the 
little envelopes and took out two round 
mirrors. On the back of each mirror was 
written, 

“Smile and smile, it is worth while; 

Fortune will meet you with a smile." 

The children laughed and said, “It is 
easy to smile when the woods are full of 
enchantment on Hallowe’en." 

















































♦ 
































*• 









































Chapter Eleven 

THE FAIRY SHOEMAKER 
CARNATION STORIES 































CHAPTER 11 


THE FAIRY SHOEMAKER 
CARNATION STORIES 

One morning Fred and Flora were 
awakened by a gentle “tap, tap, tap.” 

“Is it rain?” asked Fred. 

“Is it the Fairy Shoemaker?” asked 
Flora. 

The children gave a cry of delight when 
they saw a fairy sitting among the car¬ 
nations they had picked. 

They had picked the carnations the 
night before to take to mother the first 
thing in the morning, for it was Mother’s 
Day. 


163 


164 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Fred said, “If we can only get the Fairy 
Shoemaker to speak to us, he may tell us 
how we can find the pot of gold at the 
rainbow’s end, but we do not want to 
frighten the little fellow away.” 

“Tap, tap, tap, how do you do? 

The Fairy Shoemaker makes his 
shoe.” 

Just then Flora said, “We must not 
let him fall asleep or he will bring bad 
luck to us.” 

At this, the Fairy winked an eye and 
said, 


“Ha, ha, ha, slipper or shoe? 

Tap, tap, tap, how do you do?” 

The children were delighted to find the 
little fellow so friendly and soon they 
were chatting with him in a most famil¬ 
iar manner. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 165 


He said, 

“Tap, tap, tap, I don’t know whether 
To make a shoe of glass or leather.” 
“Glass?” said Flora and Fred together. 

“Do you ever make shoes of glass?” 

The little fellow answered, 

“Tap, tap, tap, a Shoemaker sings 
Of glass, or leather, or butterfly 
wings.” 

The children watched him rap and tap 
away. 

He was really making a slipper of bits 
of blue glass. 

“That looks like a glass slipper I saw 
down town,” said Flora. “It was meant 
for a vase of flowers.” 

Fred said, 

“We must dress and take our bouquet 
Down to the table for Mother’s Day.” 


166 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 

The Fairy Shoemaker made a low bow 
as he got down on the table and said, 

“Don’t you really think you’d better 

Write your mother dear a letter?” 

Fred and Flora said, “We never 
thought of that. Indeed, we will write 
mother a letter and put it with her bou¬ 
quet.” 

Now, the little fellow whispered in 
Fred’s ear and in Flora’s ear and kept 
telling them what to write, and some of 
the little jingles he made were fine. One 
read, 

“There is so much love in a flower bell 
curled, 

But only ONE Mother o’er all the 
world.” 

He whispered to the children to thank 
their mother for everything she did for 
them from morning till night. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 167 


Today was not only Mother’s Day but 
Mother’s birthday. 

The Fairy Shoemaker said, “I will 
meet you in the Greenhouse.” So saying, 
he disappeared. 

Mother Flower met them all in the 
Greenhouse and she was pleased with her 
letter and bouquet. She said, “I will tell 
you the Legend of the Carnation.” 

“Once a Leprachaun was out late at 
night. 

“A Leprachaun, a Fairy Shoemaker,” 
cried the children in one breath. 

Mother continued, “He went to a Rabbit 
Hutch and said, 

‘Tap, tap, tap, hear my din; 

I’m the Fairy Shoemaker, let me in.’ 


168 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 

“The Rabbit answered, 

‘It is so late, I have no light; 

Call again another night.’ 

“The Fairy Shoemaker next went to an 
old Owl’s nest and asked to rest, but the 
old Owl said, 

‘It is so late, I have no light; 

Call again another night.’ 

“Then very tired, indeed, the little fel¬ 
low went to a Mouse hole and asked to 
stay all night and sleep, but the Mouse 
would not let him in and gave the same 
answer as the others. 

“As he went through an old-fashioned 
garden, the red, and pink, and white car¬ 
nations were singing, 

‘We are carnations, red, pink and white; 
We sing and say, “Good night, good 
night.” ’ 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 169 


“The Fairy Shoemaker jumped up into 
one of the carnations and said, ‘Please 
shelter me.’ 

“He curled up and went to sleep under 
one of the petals. 

“Next day he said, 

‘Ha, ha, I’ll give you sweet perfume; 

You will give fragrance when you 
bloom.’ 

“He tapped on the petals and every one 
of the carnations became fragrant, and 
they have been fragrant ever since. It 
was the gift of the Fairy Shoemaker. 
They say, 

‘It is sweet to be of service, very 
And you may shelter a little fairy.’ ” 

“Oh, oh, oh!” cried the children. “What 
a pretty story!” 


170 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Mother Flower said, “On my birthday 
I want to send out many bouquets of 
flowers and give away presents.” 

The children said, 

“Tap, tap, tap, a familiar sound, 

The Fairy Shoemaker is around.” 

They gathered white carnations and 
said, “Where will the white carnations 
go?” 


The Fairy Shoemaker was well hidden 
but he sang, 

“Tap, tap, tap, hear what I say, 

‘Send to the christening over the way.’ ” 

Flora and Fred said, “The very thing, 
a little baby will be christened across the 
street and we are invited to go.” 

“Where shall we send the pink carna¬ 
tions?” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 171 


In answer to this, the Fairy Shoemaker 
shouted 

“Pink flowers and candles, and pink sug¬ 
ar cake, 

A fine birthday party will help to make.” 

The children remembered a poor child 
who was to have a birthday party, and 
they made a pink bouquet for her. 

“Now,” they said, “What shall we do 
with the red carnations?” 

The Fairy Shoemaker laughed and 
said, 

“Tap, tap, tap, now I say, 

‘Put them in a bride’s bouquet.’ ” 

They did not know whether he was 
joking or in earnest. 

He continued, 

“The carnation flower, as I believe, 

Has on its stem quite pointed leaves; 


172 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


Sepals united into a cup; 

The flowers nod as you look up. 

We wear carnations, too, they say, 

In honor of McKinley Day.” 

The Fairy Shoemaker next said, 

‘Til tell you a story without a rhyme; 

I can speak in prose most any time.” 

The children laughed for they thought 
it much harder to make up rhymes than 
to talk in prose, but, of course, every¬ 
thing is easy for a fairy and the fairies 
are fond of jokes. 

The Fairy Shoemaker sat cross-legged 
and said, “I will tell a Fairy Tale about a 
Carnation.” 

“Once upon a time a little old-fash¬ 
ioned Garden Pink grew in an old-fash¬ 
ioned garden, and it longed to become 
beautiful and good. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 173 


“The other Garden Pinks said, ‘We are 
satisfied to bloom here side by side. We 
think only of ourselves and our own com¬ 
fort.’ 

“The good little Pink said, ‘Every day 
I will reach up, up, up, toward the sky and 
every night I will drink in dew;’ and it 
tried so hard to become beautiful and 
good that the little old-fashioned lady, 
who owned the old-fashioned garden, 
came and took the Pink in-doors, before 
frost came, and potted it and placed it in 
a sunny window. 

“The sun shone upon it and it turned 
into a carnation. 

“It longed so to become good and beau¬ 
tiful that it was a delight to others, and 
it became the mother of the carnation 
family.” 


174 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 

Fred said, “I like that story, and I like 
to think Carnations have red and white, 
like the colors of our flag. I wish we could 
have a blue carnation.” 

He forgot the Fairy was there. 

In half an hour the Fairy called, 

“Carnations of many colors seen, 

Look at them now, blue and green.” 

The children cried with surprise as 
they saw a blue Carnation and a green 
one. 

The Fairy Shoemaker did not tell 
whether he had used Fairy Magic or 
green and blue ink in the water that held 
the flowers, but later on, the children 
found that a white carnation put in ink 
will absorb the color. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 175 


Fred said, “I will take a bunch of car¬ 
nations to a sick child,” and Flora said, 
“I will take some to a lonely old lady I 
know.” 

The Fairy Shoemaker remarked, 

“You’ll grow beautiful and good, 

If you think of others as you should.” 

The children stood by their mark on 
the wall. 

Sure enough, they had grown half an 
inch since they had measured their 
height the time before. 

That evening Mother Flower said, “I 
am glad my children are so happy and 
good. I will take you with me tomorrow 
to visit the Pottery where the beautiful 
vases are made. I had a fine time myself 
there today.” 


176 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 

Flora and Fred went to bed early and 
found ,to their surprise, a little glass slip¬ 
per left for them. 

They said, “This is the work of the 
Fairy Shoemaker. We hope we may meet 
him again.” 

He was not far away, for they heard 
him sing. 

“Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, 

Don’t let me disturb your nap; 
Carnations, red and pink and white, 
In Flowerland are a delight.” 



* 





«• 





































































Chapter Twelve 
A VISIT TO THE POTTERY 

CHRYSANTHEMUMS 











CHAPTER 12 


A VISIT TO THE POTTERY 

CHRYSANTHEMUMS 

Mother Flower called one morning, 

“The Early-To-Rise Child has good luck; 
Good luck is another name for pluck.” 

Flora and Fred said , “Oh Mother, 
Mother, are we really going to visit the 
Pottery today? Are we really going to 
see how vases are made?” 

Mother Flower said, 

“You’ll be surprised if a fairy knocks, 
Please do not turn into a question box.” 

The children always asked a great 
many questions about everything. 


179 


180 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


They had a ride on the train and then 
had to walk a short distance to the Pot¬ 
tery. 

They had a wonderful time there and 
saw men making jugs and vases and 
pitchers. 

They saw the men working with their 
hands, and with their feet, and they saw 
the clay whirling round and round. 

The men kept cloth on their unfinished 
vases and said, 

“This will be a beautiful vase by and by, 

But now it must not be allowed to dry.” 

By and by this vase was baked and 
then glazed. 

Some of the vases had designs made 
upon them with wooden tools, and some 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 181 


of them had pretty patterns painted on. 

On some vases the color was mixed 
with water and gum arabic and put on 
the vase while it was moist; then it was 
set aside and fired in a few days. 

The children loved the whir of the ma¬ 
chinery and there were so many interest¬ 
ing things to see. 

Sometimes a pattern was made by 
scraping the vase after it was colored 
and fired. 

Sometimes color was mixed with the 
clay in the first place. Sometimes the 
vase was colored all over. 

Mother Flower bought a vase to take 
home. 


182 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 

Flora said, “What flowers shall we put 
in the new vase?” 

Fred said, “There are wonderful Chry¬ 
santhemums in our yard and our green¬ 
house.” 

The children were tired from their 
journey when they reached home that 
evening but a Cheerful Cricket came out 
to talk to them. 

He sang, 

“I never keep as still as a mouse, 

I sing ‘Cheer up, now, in the house; 
Though Mrs. Cricket never sings, 

I make the noise with my wings: 

I look quite like the carpet, see, 

Can you now discover me?” 


The children had quite a search for the 
Cheerful Cricket, and said, “We know 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 183 


you look so much like the ground on pur¬ 
pose, to protect you from being seen by 
your enemies, but you may come out, for 
we are your friends.” 

The Cheerful Cricket continued, 

“I like the winter; when inside, 
Behind your furniture I hide.” 

There was magic in the air that night 
and the children could hardly tell wheth¬ 
er they were awake or dreaming, but 
the Japanese Doll Pin cushion began to 
nod to the China Mandarin and said dis¬ 
tinctly, 

“This is the hour of song and rhyme, 

Chrysanthemum time, chrysanthe¬ 
mum time.” 

She began to dance and the Chrysan¬ 
themum in her hair nodded to and fro. 


184 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


She said, “There is a very big Chrysan¬ 
themum family. I know about 500 vari¬ 
eties myself.” 

The Mandarin said, “The Chinese Chry¬ 
santhemums stand the cold better than 
the Japanese Chrysanthemums. 

“Dance on, dance on, 

My gay Pompon.” 

The Pompon chrysanthemum in the 
little Japanese Dancer’s hair nodded 
again, while she shouted names of Jap¬ 
anese Chrysanthemums, as she whirled 
in her gay dance, singing, 

“Alba-Perfecta White, Golden Circle, 
Bob Crimson,” and so on. 

The Mandarin named some varieties, 
too, saying, “Diana White, King of the 
Crimsons, Princess White,” and so on. 















































































. 














Flora And Fred in Flowerland 185 


The little Dancer said, 

“Chrysanthemums that we name 
Come late in Flora’s train.” 


The Mandarin said, 

“Autumn Queen, Autumn Queen, 

The Chrysanthemum now is seen.” 

Fred found himself repeating a poem 
by Oliver Wendell Holmes, 


“The fields are stripped, the groves are 
dumb, 

Then blooms the bright Chrysanthe¬ 
mum; 

Thy smile the scowl of winter braves, 
Last of the bright-robed flowery train, 
Soft-sighing o’er the garden graves, 
Farewell, farewell, we meet again.” 


186 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 

The little Japanese Doll sang. 

“We must go, we must go 
To the festival at Tokio.” 

Whether she and the Mandarin went 
or not I never knew, but next day they 
could not be found in the house, and the 
Cheerful Cricket kept up a chirp but 
would not tell what he knew about the 
matter. 

Next day the children shouted as they 
looked out the window, for they saw a 
familiar pair of ears bobbing up and 
down. 

They saw the Mad March Hare. He 
called to them, 

“The Mad March Hare, without rhyme 
or reason, 

Appears in your garden at any season.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 187 


He called again, 

“Why do you stay in, it is queer 

For autumn’s a glorious time of year.” 

Flora and Fred ran out into the gar¬ 
den. 

The Chrysanthemums nodded a wel¬ 
come, and the Mad March Hare almost 
tripped them up as he scampered in front 
of them. 

A big friendly Chrysanthemum said, 

“From China my forefathers come; 

I am the symbol of the sun: 

Petals unfolding one by one, 

Each petal in its own direction, 

Makes for us Chinese perfection.” 

A Japanese Chrysanthemum said, “I 
will tell you a story if you will hold me 
close to your ear: 


188 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 

“Once upon a time Kiku, a servant 
whose name means Chrysanthemum, 
was polishing twelve gold plates in a cas¬ 
tle. She left the room and one plate was 
stolen. Kiku jumped into a well because 
she feared the Mikado would scold her 
for the missing plate, and every night, as 
counts the plates. When she comes to 
‘eleven/ she shrieks 

‘The missing one, the missing one, 

My name is poor Chrysanthemum/ ” 


The children said, “What an odd story! 
We hope some one will return the miss¬ 
ing plate.” 

A tiny, tinkling voice sang, 

“Shade part of your flower from the sun 
To get a different Chrysanthemum.” 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 189 


The Fairy said this was sometimes 
done when people wanted to get a differ¬ 
ent variety of Chrysanthemum. 

The Mad March Hare ran up and down 
the paths, shouting, 

“I’m very mad, I’ll tell the reason, 

Soon will come our winter season.” 

He hopped about, and the children clap¬ 
ped their hands, for they saw a strange 
sight. 

The garden tools were all marching up 
and down the garden walks. 

Said Sammy Scythe, “I have to sigh, 

I call to you, ‘Good bye, good bye.’ ” 

He said he had nothing more to cut 
down. 

Susan Sickle next came into line. 

Said Susan Sickle, “Dear me, oh my, 


190 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 

I really hate to say ‘Good bye/ ” 

Then Horace Hoe came walking very 
straight and tall. 

Said Horace Hoe, “Hear me cry, 

Flora and Fred, ‘Good bye, good bye/ ” 

Next, Sarah Spade came sighing. 

Said Sarah Spade, “If I’d wings I’d fly; 

Flora and Fred, ‘Good bye, good bye.’ ” 

Tommy Trowel was happy. He knew 
he would be in the greenhouse and he 
sang, 


“What a funny procession! 

I like my profession, 

I’m always happy, wet or dry, 
Tommy Trowel sings ‘Good bye/ ” 

The tools marched into the shed and 
the children laughed loud and long. 


Flora And Fred in Flowerland 191 


Then a wee Bird flew overhead. 

A Bonnie Butterfly sailed by, and the 
children knew that autumn was nearly 
over. 

They said, 

“For garden tools if you will look, 

You’ll find them now in many a bpok.” 

Mother Flower said, 

“I love every flower in a garden bed, 

But most of all the Chrysanthemum 
red.” 

The children gathered Chrysanthe¬ 
mums and said, “Some of you are Chinese 
fellows and some of you are Japanese 
fellows and some of you are real Ameri¬ 
cans.” 

They put the Chrysanthemums m the 
new vase on the table and told Mother 
Flower all they had learned about Chry¬ 
santhemums. 


192 Flora And Fred in Flowerland 


She said, 

“Let us do the best within our power. 
Like the perfect Chrysanthemum flow¬ 
er.” 

She said she liked the lesson of perfec¬ 
tion the flower taught, and added, 

“Hand in hand, hand in hand, 
Let’s journey on through Flower- 
land.” 

Flora and Fred looked at the gay Chry¬ 
santhemums and smiled. 

Now, if this book you like to read, 

The Fairies will help you succeed; 
New wonders you’ll find on the pages, 
And stories to suit different ages: 

So you can read for hours and hours, 
And enjoy the pretty flowers; 

Flora and Fred, you understand, 

Will meet you all in Flowerland. 







LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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